Top NH Dems propose no-excuse absentee voting
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Jan. 31—CONCORD — The top Senate and House Democratic leadership on Tuesday proposed no-excuse absentee voting, one of the key conditions a Democratic National Committee panel has said New Hampshire must meet if it wants to hold an early presidential primary in 2024.
Secretary of State David Scanlan opposed the bill (SB 220), maintaining it would require a change in the state constitution to allow any voter to receive an absentee ballot for any reason.
Current law limits absentee ballots to disabled individuals or those unable to make it to the polls on Election Day because of work requirements, care for a dependent or for religious reasons.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Legislature passed a law only for the 2020 election that allowed any voter to get an absentee ballot if he or she had health concerns.
The voter turnout in November 2020 set a record with 814,092 ballots cast, 85,000 more than the previous mark in 2016.
Absentee voters totaled 261,062, nearly three times the previous high.
"This takes a very modest step. It was tried and tested and done in a very competent manner," Soucy said.
All 10 Senate Democrats signed onto this bill, as did House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm of Manchester.
At present, 27 states allow no-excuse absentee voting, and another eight states permit voters to cast ballots by mail.
Unlike mail-in voting, this change would still ensure the reporting of election results in a timely fashion in New Hampshire, Soucy said.
"Some states with mail-in voting allow for ballots to be received after Election Day. I think that's problematic," Soucy said.
"We do things quite effectively and part of the reason ... is we declare a winner so people know on election night who has won. I think that is a process that serves us well and should continue."
Scanlan was the only opponent to attend Tuesday's hearing on this proposal.
He said that for decades the state constitution has had a provision limiting absentee voting.
"I believe the constitution would need to be changed to allow this," Scanlan said.
Henry Klementowicz, senior staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, said he disagreed with Scanlan's constitutional analysis.
In 1941, the constitution changed to allow the disabled to vote by absentee ballot, and the Legislature has expanded that to include the work and related reasons, he said.
"This has been the law of the land for decades and it has never been challenged," Klementowicz said.
"I don't think the constitution prohibits no-excuse voting. I think it is within the province of this body and the other body to define what it means by absentee voting."
After the hearing, new Republican State Chairman Chris Ager urged the Legislature to reject the change.
"New Hampshire already makes it incredibly easy to vote and has incredibly high voter participation," Ager said in a statement. "This is another Democrat solution in search of a problem that would open our system to abuse."
Sununu, GOP leaders: No deal
The DNC rules and bylaws panel initially gave the Legislature until Jan. 5 to adopt this change and to repeal the first-in-the-nation presidential primary law in New Hampshire.
Last week, the panel changed that deadline for action to June 5.
Gov. Chris Sununu has called those demands "blackmail," and Republican legislative leaders have said they are "non-starters" for lawmakers to adopt in 2023.
A coalition of voting right groups supported it.
"People should be able to exercise their right to vote the way they choose without facing unnecessary roadblocks," said Christina FitzPatrick, state director of AARP.
MacKenzie St. Germain, state director with the Campaign for Voting Rights, said research has shown expanded absentee voting does not give either Democrats or Republicans an advantage.
Representatives with the League of Women Voters and Open Democracy also endorsed it.
Another part of this bill, which would permit local election officials to pre-process absentee ballots before Election Day, appears to have bipartisan support.
The 2020 law regarding COVID allowed city and town clerks to supervise this pre-processing, which local officials said dramatically cuts down the time spent after the polls close to count all the ballots.
Senate Election Laws Committee Chairman James Gray, R-Rochester, said this change is contained in another bill the Senate will be taking up.
