HB 496 - AS INTRODUCED
2023 SESSION
23-0591
06/05
HOUSE BILL 496
AN ACT relative to the delivery of ballots to nursing homes and elder care facilities.
SPONSORS: Rep. Edwards, Rock. 31; Rep. Harvey-Bolia, Belk. 3; Rep. Cushman, Hills. 28; Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien, Rock. 13
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a new procedure for delivering absentee ballots to voters in nursing homes and elder care facilities.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23-0591
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT relative to the delivery of ballots to nursing homes and elder care facilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Procedure for Absence, Religious Observance, and Disability and Overseas Voting; Nursing Homes and Elder Care Facilities. Amend RSA 657:17 by inserting after section 17-a the following new section:
657:17-b Nursing Homes and Elder Care Facilities. A clerk, assistant clerk, or deputized clerk who delivers multiple absentee ballots to residents of nursing homes or elder care facilities for the convenience of the residents shall be accompanied by 2 absentee ballot observers, one from each of the 2 political parties that received the highest number of votes in the last election. The absentee ballot observers shall ensure the process of receiving, marking, and returning the absentee ballots is fair, private, and properly handled. Absentee ballot observers shall be appointed by the respective party committee chairs of the town, or if no town committee, the respective county or state committee chairs, and any appointments shall be forwarded to the town clerk and secretary of state. Absentee ballot observers shall take the oath prescribed in Part II, Article 84 of the New Hampshire constitution and agree to protect the privacy of the voter’s ballot. Any activity related to the delivery of ballots to nursing homes or elder care facilities that appears to be inconsistent with state statutes shall be reported to the secretary of state.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.