SB70: relative to the establishment of an election information portal and relative to the purchase of election equipment.
Did you know New Hampshire is just one of eleven states that does not have online voter registration? Yup, this is according to an analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire. In this state, we go in person to our local clerk’s office or make a request by mail.
SB70 was meant to allow the Secretary of State to establish an “Election Information Portal”, thereby allowing residents, who move to a new city or town, the ability to register to vote online. The information portal would also give access to absentee ballot requests along with updating name and address information.
Supporters of the bill stated this choice would help decrease the amount of same-day registrations at the polls while encouraging more folks to get registered before any upcoming election day.
In February, the Senate passed the legislation but then the House went and added an amendment to the bill. The amendment would have given the Secretary of State permission to release some of its federal grant money to towns needing help in replacing old voting machines. The argument was that there are many old voting machines still being used across the state, some for thirty years. Federal and state funding was seen as being able to go a long way to the replacement costs for these machines while easing the burden on property owner’s taxes.
The federal grant money came to the state through the “Help America Vote Act” of 2022. The argument against the amendment was this money should be used for state expenses relative to elections, trainings for election workers and voting machines for those with disabilities. There was worry that sending a portion of that grant money to purchase new voting machines could drain state reserves. Sen. James Gray (R), chairman of the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee, felt towns should pay for new voting machines themselves, the state not become a party to funding them.
Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (D), introduced a compromise amendment allowing the Secretary of State to dedicate funding to towns to help pay for new voting machines, reducing the impact on the state’s grant funding. Only one member of the committee, Rep. Steve Smith (R), voted against the proposed amendment. In order for committee of conference reports to advance, the vote must be unanimous.
Therefore, this past week, SB70, a bill originally allowing for online voter registration, was killed.