New House GOP proposal for voting machines emerges
Apr. 11—CONCORD — Cities and towns could qualify to use some of the $12 million federal Help America Vote Act grant surplus to replace aging voting machines under a move a House Republican leader is backing — reviving a proposal supported by leading House and Senate Democrats.
House Election Laws Committee Chairman Ross Berry, R-Merrimack, proposed Tuesday to graft this proposal onto a Senate-passed bill (SB 70) to create a voter information portal that would permit citizens online to more easily register to vote, update their information or request absentee ballots.
The state Senate earlier killed separate legislation (SB 73) to permit the use of Help America Vote Act (HAVA) money for voting machines while Berry's House committee decided to retain its own legislation on the topic (HB 447) until early in 2024.
Berry said he was hoping his gambit could permit both these ideas to become a reality.
"We know our colleagues on the other side of the wall really love the portal," Berry said. "Let's marry the two and have our cake and eat it too; that's what the bill does."
Senate Election Laws and Municipal Affairs Committee Chairman James Gray, R-Rochester, said the Senate remains dead-set against using HAVA grants so communities could replace their AccuVote machines, the only technology allowed for cities and towns that don't have paper balloting.
"If you want to buy new machines, spend your tax dollars, the ones you collect through property taxes, but leave the general fund alone," Gray said.
Earlier during the 2023 session, Secretary of State David Scanlan came out against using HAVA grants to replace voting machines.
Current state law prevents the state from spending any more than 1/12th of the HAVA money in a single year.
Berry's proposal would get rid of that restriction.
Berry said he had agreed with Scanlan about not using HAVA for this purpose until he recently learned the state was spending this grant in greater amounts than the state has been earning in interest on the money.
New Hampshire got most of its HAVA money soon after Congress passed that election reform law in 2002.
In recent weeks, Scanlan told House budget writers lawmakers could choose to use state budget dollars to assist communities in buying new voting machines.
Last week, Scanlan said he was hopeful the Ballot Law Commission (BLC) would approve new voting machine technology early enough so that officials in cities and towns could choose to deploy them during the 2024 elections.
AccuVote machines are no longer manufactured, and it's become difficult in recent years for local election officials to obtain enough replacement parts for them.
Berry and Rep. Connie Lane, D-Concord, the ranking Democrat on the House elections panel, co-wrote a letter urging the BLC to speed up the timetable to make new voting machines accessible to cities and towns.
Michael O'Brien, a lobbyist representing America Votes, said he's torn about this proposal, fearing it could lead to both ideas failing to pass.
"We would love a deal to be reached here so both of these could move forward," O'Brien said.
Natch Greyes, a lobbyist speaking for the New Hampshire Municipal Association, said that group supports Berry's plan.
A variety of voting rights groups urged the House panel Tuesday to endorse the voter information portal, including the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights and the Kent Street Coalition.
Berry pointed out the Republican-led House in the past had rejected the portal; he called it a "$1 million boondoggle."
His proposal would require the HAVA grant be the source of support for the information portal; the Senate passed bill would spend state budget dollars on it.
Scanlan's office has recently said it will cost about $500,000 to set up the program and about $250,000-to-$300,000 a year to maintain it.
Berry said spending HAVA money on the portal would ensure it doesn't cost too much.
The House panel may vote on this plan next Tuesday, Berry added.
