Granite State Taxpayers Files NH Supreme Court Memorandum Supporting HB 1264.
Granite State Taxpayers filed a Memorandum supporting a finding that the House Bill 1264 is constitutional.
HB 1264 was passed to clarify a definition of residency compliant with previous court decisions.
On May 16, 2018, the Governor and Executive Council requesting a Supreme Court opinion on the constitutionality of HB 1264. The Court opened Case No. 2018-0267, and issued an order stating:
“Memoranda on the questions presented by the request may be submitted by any legislator, attorney, organization, interested party, or member of the public.”
Click to read the Granite State Taxpayers Memorandum filed May 31, 2018, with the Supreme Court.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives filed in support of HB 1264; the ACLU filed in opposition.
The United States Supreme Court, in 1972, stated:
“States have the power to require that voters be bona fide residents of the relevant political subdivision.”
The 49 other states and the District of Columbia require voters to be residents.
Getting a driver’s license in any state requires documenting that one is a resident there.
In 2016, 6,540 people registered to vote in New Hampshire using an out of state driver’s license.
While an out of state driver’s license provides proof of identity, it also proves residency in another state.
491 voters used out of state driver’s licenses to change registration from one New Hampshire town to another.
“We have “Representation Without Taxation” when residents of other states vote in New Hampshire but avoid the obligations to the State that are expected from New Hampshire residents,” said GST Chairman Ray Chadwick. “That difference in treatment is an affront to the concept of Equal Treatment under the Law.”
Click to read the Granite State Taxpayers Press Release.
GST supports HB 1264 so people who vote in New Hampshire actually live in New Hampshire.