CHAPTER 111
HB 523-FN - FINAL VERSION
05/20/2021 1384s
2021 SESSION
21-0757
11/08
HOUSE BILL 523-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Gay, Rock. 8; Rep. M. Pearson, Rock. 34; Rep. Janigian, Rock. 8; Rep. Love, Rock. 6; Rep. W. MacDonald, Rock. 5; Rep. Cushman, Hills. 2; Rep. Elliott, Rock. 8; Rep. Sweeney, Rock. 8; Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien, Rock. 6; Rep. Doucette, Rock. 8
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires voters who register to vote by using a qualified voter affidavit or sworn statement on the election day registration form instead of other approved identification to have their photograph taken at the time of registration.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05/20/2021 1384s 21-0757
11/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
111:1 New Paragraph; Elections; Determining Qualifications of Applicant; Photograph Required. Amend RSA 654:12 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
III-a. The supervisors of the checklist, town or city clerk, or election day official shall take a photograph of any person who registers using a qualified voter affidavit or sworn statement on the general election day registration form. Such photograph shall be retained in the same manner as qualified voter affidavits pursuant to RSA 33-A:3-a, CXLI(e). The photograph may be used for purposes of RSA 659:13, I(c).
111:2 Elections; Determining Qualifications of Applicant; Photograph Required. Amend RSA 659:13, I(c)(2) to read as follows:
(2) If the voter executes a challenged voter affidavit, the moderator or the moderator's designee shall take a photograph of the voter and immediately print and attach the photograph to, and thus make it a part of, the affidavit form. However, if a photograph was taken under RSA 654:12, then a notation shall be made on the challenged voter affidavit stating that the photograph is attached to the qualified voter affidavit or sworn statement on the general election day registration form. The photograph shall be 2 inches by 2 inches, or larger, and may be in color or in black and white. The moderator or his or her designee who took the photograph and the voter shall then sign the challenged voter affidavit. The moderator or designee shall delete the photograph from the camera in the presence of the voter. If the moderator or his or her designee is unable to take the voter's photograph due to equipment failure or other cause beyond the moderator's or his or her designee's reasonable control, the voter may execute a challenged voter affidavit without a photograph.
111:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 09, 2021
Effective Date: September 07, 2021