CHAPTER 172
HB 1574-FN – FINAL VERSION
04/21/10 1341s
2010 SESSION
03/05
HOUSE BILL 1574-FN
AN ACT relative to retention of election records.
SPONSORS: Rep. Drisko, Hills 5; Rep. Perry, Straf 3
This bill makes various changes relative to retention of election records.
This bill was requested by the department of state.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
04/21/10 1341s
10-2452
03/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to retention of election records.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
172:1 Disposition and Retention Schedule. Amend RSA 33-A:3-a, XXXVI-XXXVIII to read as follows:
XXXVI. Elections-federal elections: ballots and absentee ballot applications, affidavit envelopes, and lists: by the town clerk until the contest is settled and all appeals have expired or at least 22 months after the election, whichever is longer.
XXXVII. Elections-not federal[, all other]: ballots and absentee ballot applications, affidavit envelopes, and lists: by the town clerk until the contest is settled and all appeals have expired or at least 60 days after the election, whichever is longer.
XXXVIII. Elections-challenge affidavits by the town clerk:
(a) Federal elections: until the contest is settled and all appeals have expired or [one year] 22 months after the election, whichever is longer.
(b) Non-federal elections: until the contest is settled and all appeals have expired or 60 days after the election, whichever is longer.
172:2 Disposition and Retention Schedule. Amend RSA 33-A:3-a, CXL-CXLI to read as follows:
CXL. Voter checklist-marked copy kept by town pursuant to RSA 659:102: [5] 7 years.
CXLI. Voter registration:
(a) [Purged record cards] Forms, including absentee voter registration forms: until voter is removed from checklist plus [5] 7 years.
(b) Same day, returned to undeclared status, form and report from statewide centralized voter registration database: [5] 7 years.
(c) Party change form: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(d) Forms, rejected, including absentee voter registration forms, and denial notifications: 7 years.
(e) Qualified voter affidavit: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(f) Domicile affidavit: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(g) Overseas absentee registration affidavit: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(h) Absentee ballot voter application form in the federal post card application format, for voters not previously on the checklist: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(i) Absentee ballot affidavit envelope for federal post card applicants not previously on the checklist: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(j) Notice of removal, 30-day notice: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(k) Report of death: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(l) Report of transfer: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
(m) Undeliverable mail or change of address notice from the United States Postal Service: until voter is removed from checklist plus 7 years.
172:3 New Paragraph; Disposition and Retention Schedule. Amend RSA 33-A:3-a by inserting after paragraph CLIV the following new paragraph:
CLV. Election return forms, all elections: permanently.
172:4 Determining Qualifications of Applicant. Amend RSA 654:12, I(a)-(c) to read as follows:
(a) CITIZENSHIP. The supervisors of the checklist, or the town or city clerk, shall accept from the applicant any one of the following as proof of citizenship: the applicant’s birth certificate, passport, naturalization papers if the applicant is a naturalized citizen, a qualified voter affidavit, or any other reasonable documentation which indicates the applicant is a United States citizen. The qualified voter affidavit shall be in the following form, and shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a:
Date: ______________________
QUALIFIED VOTER AFFIDAVIT (Identity, Citizenship, Age)
Name: ______________________________
Name at birth if different: ______________________________
Place of birth: ______________________________
Date of birth: __________
Date and Place of Naturalization: ____________________________
I hereby swear and affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, that I am the identical person whom I represent myself to be, that I am a duly qualified voter of this town (or ward), that I am a United States citizen, that I am at least 18 years of age as of this date or will be at the next election, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information above is true and correct.
____________________________
(Signature of applicant)
In accordance with RSA 659:34, the penalty for knowingly or purposefully providing false information when registering to vote or voting is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Fraudulently registering to vote or voting is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000.
On the date shown above, before me, ____________________ (print name of notary public, justice of the peace, election officer), appeared ____________________ (print name of person whose signature is being notarized), (known to me or satisfactorily proven (circle one) to be the person whose name appears above, and he or she subscribed his or her name to the foregoing affidavit and swore that the facts contained in this affidavit are true to the best of his or her knowledge and belief.
________________________________
Notary Public/Justice of the Peace/
Official Authorized by RSA 659:30
(b) AGE. Any reasonable documentation indicating the applicant [is] will be 18 years of age or older at the next election, or, if the applicant does not have reasonable documentation in his or her possession at the place and time of voter registration, a qualified voter affidavit, which shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
(c) DOMICILE. Any reasonable documentation which indicates that the applicant has a domicile and intends to maintain a domicile, as defined in this chapter, in the town, city, or ward in which he or she desires to vote, or, if the applicant does not have reasonable documentation in his or her possession at the place and time of voter registration, an affidavit in the following form, which shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a:
DOMICILE AFFIDAVIT
Date: ________________
Name: _________________________
Current Domicile Address: ___________________________________________________________________
Street Ward Number
________________________________________________________________
Town or City Zip Code
Date when current domicile was established: Month: _______ Year: _______
Place and date of birth: ____________________
Address of last previous domicile: _____________________________________________________________
Street Ward Number
________________________________________________________________
Town or City Zip Code
I hereby swear and affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, that my established domicile is at the current domicile address I have entered above. I understand that I can claim only one city/town as my domicile at a time. A domicile is that place, more than any other, where I sleep most nights of the year, or to which I intend to return after a temporary absence. By registering or voting today, I acknowledge that I am not registering to vote or voting in any other city/town, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information above is true and correct.
________________________________
(Signature of applicant)
In accordance with RSA 659:34, the penalty for knowingly or purposefully providing false information when registering to vote or voting is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Fraudulently registering to vote or voting is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000.
On the date shown above, before me, ______________________ (print name of notary public, justice of the peace, election officer), appeared ______________________ (print name of person whose signature is being notarized), (known to me or satisfactorily proven (circle one) to be the person whose name appears above, and he or she subscribed his or her name to the foregoing affidavit and swore that the facts contained in this affidavit are true to the best of his or her knowledge and belief.
_____________________________________
Notary Public/Justice of the Peace/ Official Authorized by RSA 659:30
172:5 Determining Qualifications of Applicant. Amend RSA 654:12, III to read as follows:
III. To prove the qualifications set forth in paragraphs I and II, an applicant for registration as a voter must prove his or her identity to establish that the evidence used to prove age, citizenship, and domicile relate to the applicant. A person who has in his or her immediate possession a photo identification approved for use by paragraph II must present that identification when applying for registration. A person who does not have an approved photo identification with him or her may establish identity through any reasonable means, including, but not limited to: photo identification not approved by paragraph II, but determined to be legitimate by the supervisors of the checklist or clerk, verification of the person’s identity by another person registered as a voter and known to the supervisor or clerk, or completion of the qualified voter affidavit, which shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a. Residents of a nursing home or similar facility may prove their identity through verification of identity by the administrator of the facility or by his or her designee. For the purposes of this section, the application of a person whose identity has been verified by an official of a nursing home or similar facility shall be treated in the same manner as the application of a person who proved his or her identity with a photo identification.
172:6 Actions by Supervisors. Amend RSA 654:13 to read as follows:
I. If the supervisors decide to add the name of the applicant to the checklist, then they shall retain the original of the registration form for their own file, which shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a, forward one copy to the supervisors of the checklist of the city or town of the applicant’s last voting address if said address is in the state of [New Hampshire,] Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island, and send another copy to the clerk of their town or city. Upon entry of the voter record in the statewide centralized voter registration database, the supervisors of the checklist in another New Hampshire city or town will receive notice through the statewide centralized voter registration database that the voter has moved.
II. If the supervisors decide not to add the name of the applicant to the checklist, they shall send notification in writing to the applicant within 7 days stating the reason for the denial. They shall write the word “REJECTED’’ and the date of rejection across the registration form. They shall retain the original [in a separate file for proof that such an application was made] registration form and a copy of the denial notification in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:7 Overseas Citizen Voting; Effect. Amend RSA 654:23 to read as follows:
654:23 Effect. Unless the supervisors of the checklist shall be of the opinion that the applicant does not qualify as an overseas voter in the city or town as provided in RSA 654:3, domiciled outside the United States, they shall, at their next session for the correction of the checklist subsequent to their receipt of such affidavit properly executed, cause his or her name to be added to the checklist together with a mark or sign clearly indicating that the application has been entered on the checklist for the purpose of voting in federal elections only. Thereafter, such person shall be entitled to vote by overseas citizens absentee ballot at both federal primary and general elections. The supervisors shall retain the registration form in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a and forward a copy of the form to the clerk. If the supervisors decide not to add the name of the applicant to the checklist, they shall send notification to the applicant in writing within 7 days stating the reason for that denial. The supervisors of the checklist shall write the word “REJECTED’’ and the date of rejection across the registration form. They shall retain the registration form and a copy of the denial notification in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:8 Change of Registration. Amend RSA 654:34, V to read as follows:
V.(a) At any primary, the supervisors of the checklist shall make available within the polling place a card to enable a voter who was registered as an undeclared voter but who changed registration on the day of the primary in order to vote as a registered member of a party to change registration so that the voter is registered once again as an undeclared voter. The card shall be in substantially the following form:
Name __________________________
(Print)
Address _________________________
__________________________
__________________________
I hereby request that my political party registration be changed as follows:
From: Democrat [ ] or Republican [ ] [or Libertarian []]
To: Undeclared [ ]
Signed under the pains and penalties of perjury.
___________________________
(b) The supervisors of the checklist, upon receipt of such a card, shall keep it [until] in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a and at their next session of supervisors of the checklist [for changing party registration at which time the sender’s party registration] shall [be changed] change the party of the voter as indicated on the card.
172:9 Changes of Registration. Amend RSA 654:34-a, VII to read as follows:
VII. The town or city clerk shall present to the next meeting of the supervisors of the checklist, in accordance with the checklist guidelines as provided by RSA 654:25, the name of any person who made application to him or her for a change of party affiliation and the name of the party with which [he] the person desires to be affiliated or that he or she desires to be affiliated with no party. The supervisors of the checklist shall cause the party affiliation of the applicant to be changed on the checklist. Any change submitted which is prohibited by the provisions of RSA 654:34, IV shall be [retained] kept by the supervisors until acted upon; and the change shall be made as soon as permitted by law. Forms shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:10 Reports of Transfer. Amend RSA 654:36 to read as follows:
654:36 Reports of Transfer. If the supervisors of the checklist have received a notice of transfer from any other state or from another board of supervisors of the checklist in the state of New Hampshire through the statewide centralized voter registration database that a voter whose name is on the checklist has been added to the checklist of some other town or city, they shall strike that name from the checklist at the next session for the correction of the checklist. They shall retain the notice in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a as proof of their reasoning in striking the name from the checklist.
172:11 Request to Correct Checklist. Amend RSA 654:36-a, II to read as follows:
II. If the supervisors of the checklist determine that it is more likely than not that the person’s qualifications are in doubt, they shall send a notice to the person and afford the person at least 30 days to provide proof of his or her qualifications. If the person fails to respond to the 30-day notice or responds but fails to provide proof that establishes that it is more likely than not that the person is qualified to vote in the town or ward, the person’s name shall be removed from the checklist. The supervisors of the checklist shall retain a copy of the notice in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:12 Reports of Change of Address. Amend RSA 654:36-b to read as follows:
654:36-b Reports of Change of Address. If the supervisors of the checklist receive a report from the United States Postal Service or the department of safety directly or as communicated by the secretary of state through the centralized voter registration database that a voter has permanently changed his or her address to another town, city, or state, they shall strike that name from the checklist at the next session for the correction of the checklist. The supervisors of the checklist shall retain the report in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a. As an alternative, the supervisors of the checklist may first send a 30-day notice letter and then shall remove the name from the checklist if the voter does not respond to that notice as set forth in RSA 654:44.
172:13 Reports of Death. Amend RSA 654:37 to read as follows:
654:37 Reports of Death. Whenever there is filed in [his] the office of the clerk an official notice of the death of any person or persons of the age of 18 years or over, the town or city clerk shall notify the supervisors of the checklist of said deaths by submitting a notice of same to the supervisors at their next regular meeting. Upon receipt of such notice, the supervisors shall examine the checklist; and, if the name of said deceased person appears thereon, it shall be removed [prior to the next election]. The notice shall be retained in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a. Any supervisor who shall neglect or refuse to erase the name of such deceased voter from the checklist after receiving such notice from the town or city clerk shall be guilty of a violation.
172:14 Removing Names from Checklist. Amend RSA 654:44, I to read as follows:
I. The supervisors shall remove no person’s name from the checklist of their town or ward unless they shall send notice by mail to the last known address of the person whose name they wish to remove from the checklist stating the reason they are considering removing such person’s name from the checklist. Such notice shall also state the time and the place at which the supervisors shall meet to consider the removal of that person’s name and shall give the date of such meeting which shall be at least 30 days after they send such notice. At such meeting, the person whose name the supervisors wish to remove shall have a chance as he or she wishes to state in person or to present in writing personally, or by mail or other messenger, or by any such combination of these as [he] the person chooses, the reasons why his or her name should be left on the checklist. The supervisors shall not remove a person’s name from the checklist until after the completion of the written or oral statement, if any, of the person whose name they wish to remove from the checklist at the meeting held at least 30 days after they sent the notice this section requires. The supervisors shall [keep records as proof of compliance with this paragraph] retain a copy of the notice in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:15 Refusal to Certify; Procedure. Amend RSA 657:16 to read as follows:
657:16 Refusal to Certify; Procedure. If he or she refuses to certify the application, the town or city clerk shall notify the applicant in writing within 7 days to that effect. The town or city clerk shall provide the applicant with an absentee ballot and a notice that the ballot will not be counted unless the applicant submits the documents necessary to complete an absentee registration. The applicant shall be advised in writing what documents, if any, have been received in proper form and which the applicant must submit in the return envelope that contains the absentee ballot affidavit envelope. The town or city clerk shall mark the exterior of the absentee ballot affidavit envelope with the words “Not Registered.” If the applicant returns the required documents in proper form with the absentee ballot and if the applicant is found to be qualified, [he or she] the town or city clerk shall forward the registration forms to the supervisors of the checklist and the applicant shall be registered and his or her absentee ballot shall be processed in the same manner as the absentee ballot of a previously registered voter. If the ballot is returned without the required documents in proper form, the ballot shall be marked [and preserved] in the manner set [for] forth by law for successfully challenged absentee ballots and preserved in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a. The clerk shall preserve the application of any applicant who is not registered as a voter until the time set by law for the destruction of the ballots after the election at which time the application shall be destroyed. Any justice of the superior court has jurisdiction in equity upon such notice as he or she may order to require that the name of the person making application for an absentee ballot be placed upon the checklist or registered as a member of any party and be sent an absentee ballot.
172:16 Registration of Voters. Amend RSA 657:21 to read as follows:
657:21 Registration of Voters. Upon receipt of a return envelope containing an armed services or overseas citizen federal election absentee ballot, the clerk of the city or town shall open and retain said envelope and deliver the affidavit envelope to the supervisors of the checklist of the voting place indicated thereon. If the voter is not registered, the appropriate affidavit appearing on said envelope, if properly executed, shall be prima facie evidence of the voter’s qualifications to become a voter and his or her name shall be added to the checklist at the next session of the supervisors of the checklist. The supervisors of the checklist shall [then] retain a copy of the affidavit envelope and absentee ballot request form in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a and return the affidavit envelopes unopened to the city or town clerk who shall see that they agree in number with the mailing envelopes. Said clerk shall attach the application for an armed services or overseas citizen federal election absentee ballot submitted by said voter to the 2 corresponding envelopes and retain them until election day.
172:17 Affidavits Preserved. Amend RSA 659:33 to read as follows:
659:33 Affidavits Preserved. The town clerk shall preserve all affidavits of challenged voters as provided in RSA [659:103] 33-A:3-a.
172:18 Forwarding; Retaining Copies of Return. Amend RSA 659:75 to read as follows:
659:75 Forwarding; Retaining Copies of Return. One copy of the election return shall be forwarded by the town or ward clerk to the secretary of state no later than the Monday following a state election unless the secretary of state orders them sooner. The other shall be kept by the town or city clerk in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a and shall be open to public inspection at reasonable times. If an official state election return is sealed along with the ballots, the clerk having custody of the sealed ballots shall, at the request of the secretary of state, and in the presence of a state election official, unseal the ballots and retrieve the election return. The ballots shall be immediately resealed and the election return shall be delivered to the secretary of state by the election official.
172:19 Sealing and Certifying Ballots. Amend RSA 659:95 to read as follows:
I. Immediately after the ballots cast at a state election have been tabulated and the result has been announced and the return has been made, the moderator or the moderator’s designee, in the presence of the selectmen or their designee, shall place the cast, cancelled, and uncast ballots, including such ballots from any additional polling places, and further including the successfully challenged and rejected absentee ballots still contained in their envelopes, in the containers provided by the secretary of state as required by RSA 659:97 and shall seal such container with the sealer provided by the secretary of state as required by RSA 659:97. The moderator or the moderator’s designee shall then enter in the appropriate blanks on such sealer on each container the number of cast, cancelled, and uncast ballots in such container and shall endorse in the appropriate place on such sealer a certificate in substance as follows: Enclosed are the ballots from the state election in the town of ______________ (or in ward _______________ in the city of _________________) held on __________, 20___, required by law to be preserved in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a. The moderator shall identify on each sealer what number the container is and the total number of ballot containers from that town or ward as follows: Box ___ of ___. The moderator and the selectmen or their designee shall sign their names in the appropriate blanks on the sealer.
II. Ballots, including cast, cancelled, and uncast ballots and successfully challenged and rejected absentee ballots still contained in their envelopes, prepared or preserved in accordance with the election laws shall be exempt from the provisions of RSA 91-A. This exemption shall apply to any ballots or absentee voter affidavit envelopes prepared for or used in any election conducted by the state or any political subdivision, including federal elections.
172:20 Delivery of Ballots to Town Clerk. Amend RSA 659:98 to read as follows:
659:98 Delivery of Ballots to Town Clerk. The moderator, or [his] the moderator’s designee, and the selectmen, or their designee, after they have sealed and certified the state election ballots as provided in RSA 659:95 and [96] RSA 659:96, shall deliver the sealed containers to the town or city clerk, or to [his] the clerk’s designee, who shall in their presence enter in the appropriate place on each sealer the time of day and shall sign his or her name in the appropriate blank on the sealer. The clerk or [his] the clerk’s designee shall, without breaking the seals or otherwise changing the condition of the containers, deposit the containers in the town or city hall, where the ballots shall be kept for a period [of 60 days] set forth in RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:21 Destruction of Ballots. Amend RSA 659:100 to read as follows:
659:100 Destruction of Ballots. All state election ballots remaining in the possession of the town or city clerk may be destroyed [at the expiration of 60 days after a state election] in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:22 Preservation of Voting Materials. Amend RSA 659:101 to read as follows:
659:101 Preservation of Absentee Voting Materials, Election Day Affidavits, and Domicile Affidavits. The affidavit envelopes and application forms processed by the moderator as provided in RSA 659:50, the absentee ballots challenged and rejected as provided in RSA 659:51 and RSA 659:53, and the qualified voter affidavits and domicile affidavits as provided in RSA 654:12 and any other documentary proof of qualifications retained by the town or city clerk, the supervisors of the checklist, or other election official [may] shall be preserved in [the same manner that ballots are preserved] accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a. Qualified voter, voter registration, and domicile affidavits shall be retained for [3 years after the election in which they are used] the period set forth in RSA 33-A:3-a, and other materials may be destroyed [one year after the first state general election at which the individual may vote] after the election is settled and all appeals have expired or one year after the election, whichever is longer.
172:23 Preservation of Checklists. Amend RSA 659:102 to read as follows:
659:102 Preservation of Checklists. No later than the second Friday after each regular state general election, and for each presidential primary election, the supervisors of the checklist in the towns, and the corresponding officers in the cities, shall send one of the marked checklists which were used in that election, certified by the officers, to the state archives. In addition, they shall send one of the unmarked checklists which were used in the state general election at which a president was elected to the clerk of the federal district court for the district of New Hampshire. One marked copy of every checklist used in any election shall be turned over to the town or city clerk by the supervisors. The clerk shall preserve such checklists in his or her custody for a public record for a period [of no less than 5 years] set forth in RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:24 Preservation of Challenge Affidavits. Amend RSA 659:103 to read as follows:
659:103 Preservation of Challenge Affidavits. The affidavits made by challenged voters as provided in RSA 659:27 shall be preserved [by the town clerk for at least one year following the date of a state election. In contested elections, all affidavits shall be retained by the town clerk until the contest is settled and all appeals periods have expired or for at least one year, whichever is longer] in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a.
172:25 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 17, 2010
Effective Date: August 16, 2010