The Concord Monitor published the following commentary by Granite State Taxpayers Chairman Jim Adams on June 13, 2015.
Senate Bill 179, which requires every inhabitant having established domicile in this state for no less than 30 consecutive days before any election where the inhabitant offers to vote, is a good first step in the pursuit of ballot integrity in New Hampshire elections.
For decades, the requirements to vote in the state of New Hampshire have been made so that anyone interested in voting in New Hampshire, regardless of where they are from or what state they hold a driver’s license, can do so.
My organization, Granite State Taxpayers, believes the New Hampshire residents should decide the outcome of New Hampshire elections. If special interests are allowed to flood the polling locations with thousands of people who may or may not be domiciled in New Hampshire, the result could be very costly to the taxpayers who actually live and pay taxes here.
Despite the state’s voter ID law, an individual can vote in a New Hampshire election without showing a driver’s license. An individual is allowed to complete and sign an affidavit that states he/she is indeed John/Jane Doe and lives at 123 Robin Road, Someplace, New Hampshire. Upon completion of the affidavit, the individual is given a ballot and is allowed to cast that ballot, which at the close of polling that day, will be counted and affect the final outcome of the elections.
In the 2014 elections, eight state House of Representative outcomes were decided by a handful of votes. Three were ties, of which one remained a tie and the election was decided by drawing lots; two were decided by fewer than four votes, and four were decided by fewer than 20 votes. With elections this close, it is very easy under the existing process for people who are not really domiciled in New Hampshire to manipulate election outcomes.
After the 2012 elections, the secretary of state’s office mailed out hundreds of letters to the people who completed one or all of the three affidavits required to vote in the elections. The voters were required to respond to the secretary of state’s office within 30 days of receipt of the letter. Response to the secretary of state’s office regarding the inquiries indicates that 1,777 of these letters were returned from the U.S. Postal Service as “undeliverable as addressed.” The people completing the affidavit were either unknown or no longer residing at the address they indicated on their voter affidavit.
Granite State Taxpayers filed a right-to-know request per RSA-91A with the secretary of state’s office to obtain the status of these 1,777 voters. The names and addresses have been sent to the attorney general’s office by the secretary of state’s office to find these voters. As of this date, Granite State Taxpayers, after numerous requests to the attorney general’s office, has still been given no information regarding whether any of these voters have been located. The reason given is that it was an investigation in progress.
It has been more than two years now, and still there is no closure. We do not know whether 1,777 people who voted in the 2012 elections in New Hampshire were ever legally domiciled in New Hampshire. Contrary to what the advocates for the current voting situation might state, this lack of ballot integrity is a serious problem.
Granite State Taxpayers believes that SB 179 is a good first step to the ultimate goal of New Hampshire ballot integrity. One would think the best and simplest solution to this problem is that New Hampshire voters present a New Hampshire driver’s license or a photo ID non-driver’s license supplied at no charge by the Department of Safety in order to vote.
In the modern world, there is very little one can do without needing to present a driver’s license or state-provided non-driver’s license to prove one’s identity. (Just try boarding an airplane by signing an affidavit.) If the most respected person in the state relative to voting, Secretary of State Bill Gardner, is in favor of SB 179 and admits there is a problem with the present system, everyone should take notice.
Voting is a right of all American citizens; however, we should make certain that only New Hampshire residents vote in New Hampshire elections. We firmly believe that was indeed the intention of our forefathers when they created the New Hampshire Constitution.
If she believes in ballot integrity, Gov. Maggie Hassan should sign SB 179 and take this important step toward protecting our elections from fraud.
The Concord Monitor “My Turn” article by Adams can be viewed by clicking here.