Sununu signs affidavit ballot bill
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Jun. 17—CONCORD — Despite pressure from town officials and some military leaders, Gov. Chris Sununu signed controversial legislation on Friday that, for the first time, will nullify the votes of those unable to prove they are eligible to cast a ballot.
Starting in the 2024 elections, those registering to vote at the polls without identification would get an "affidavit ballot" which local volunteers will count separately on Election Night.
These voters will get a week to bring proof they reside in that polling place, or election officials will discount those votes.
Sununu said Secretary of State David Scanlan assured him state election officials could comply with this requirement in a primary election and still get general election ballots out in time for those living or serving in the military overseas.
"New Hampshire's elections have been, and will continue to be safe, reliable, and accurate — and this bill won't change these facts," Sununu said in a statement.
The legislation (SB 418) had passed the Republican-led Legislature only with GOP votes.
State Sen. Bob Giuda, R-Warren, the bill's prime author, said he was moved to pursue this change after learning the heads of two state agencies had been unable to locate 260 who voted here without identification in the 2016 presidential election.
House Democratic Leader David Cote of Nashua said Sununu should have heeded Scanlan's advice and requested the Legislature to ask the Supreme Court for an advisory opinion on whether these restrictions on new voters would be constitutional.
"The GOP's obsession with finding new ways to suppress voters has real, harmful effects on our democracy, and House Democrats will be working to modify this law before it takes effect," Cote said.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire have maintained this legislation was vulnerable to a legal challenge.
Priorities USA, a left-of-center interest group, said Friday it would finance a lawsuit that 603 Forward, Open Democracy Action and citizen activists are bringing against state officials over the new law.
"This bill is part of a nationwide effort by right-wing, anti-democratic forces to disenfranchise marginalized communities and entrench power of the wealthy few," said Guy Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA.
Ex-military chiefs lobbied for Sununu veto
The New Hampshire Sunday News first reported that several high-ranking former military leaders had signed a letter urging Sununu to veto the measure, including former secretaries of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force.
"Our military members support and defend our Constitution every day around the world, and we ask that you defend their right to vote," the retired military leaders wrote to Sununu, but Sununu failed to defend that right," said New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights Director McKenzie St. Germain.
According to state election officials, this bill would have affected 700 new voters who cast ballots in 2020 when New Hampshire set a record for voter turnout.
State Rep. Ross Berry, R-Manchester, had come up with changes to the legislation that appeared to win over Sununu.
The original bill would have applied to all voters who lacked an ID and given them 10 days to come up with the right paperwork.
Berry also convinced House and Senate GOP leaders to delay the application so this change did not apply in the next election.
"The problem with our elections is that New Hampshire voters are rapidly losing confidence in them. Here in the state of New Hampshire, there is absolutely nothing required of you to vote," Berry said.
Eva Castillo, executive director for the N.H. Alliance of Immigrants and Refugees, said the legislation would make it harder for immigrants to vote.
"This bill will restrict voting by new American citizens who are often the most regular and eager voters. The governor cannot claim that NH is a welcoming state while he is supporting these restrictions. We look forward to seeing this overturned in the courts and will continue our fight to expand ballot access for all," said Castillo, vice president of the Granite State Organizing Project.
House Election Laws Committee Chairman Barbara Griffin, R-Goffstown, responded that the bill does not address citizenship.
Griffin, a lawyer, said courts in many states have upheld similar attempts like this bill to verify a voter's eligibility.
