Josh McElveen of WMUR reports Voting residency requirement faces possible veto by governor.
Click here for the Josh McElveen report on June 11, 2015, including the WMUR News video the same day.
Following is a summary of Josh McElveen’s WMUR report and comments on the topics it presents:
Supporters of SB179, authored by Republican Sen. Sharon Carson of Londonderry, said it would help ensure ballot integrity in New Hampshire. Opponents call it a bad solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
SB179 would require that a person live in New Hampshire for at least 30 days before being eligible to vote, and defines criteria for determining domicile for voting purposes.
Secretary of State Bill Gardner believes SB179 would prevent “drive-by voting”, where someone who doesn’t live in New Hampshire can register and vote in New Hampshire on election day and impact the results.
Gardner states that 16,978 people registered to vote with out-of-state identification in the past two general elections, and 7,751 of those registered on Election Day. Gardner said that is not illegal, but it’s worrisome.
Democrat lawmakers, some election workers and the ACLU oppose SB179. They question the constitutionality of the 30-day residency proposal and say it would keep legitimate voters away.
“In a democracy, the voters are the ones who pick their representatives,” said Democrat Sen. David Pierce of Lebanon. “The representatives don’t pass laws to pick their voters.”
The US Supreme Court Dunn v. Blumstein decision of March 21, 1972 declared lengthy residency requirements for voting in state and local elections unconstitutional and suggested that 30 days was an ample period.
The Supreme Court has also stated that “States have the power to require that voters be bona fide residents of the relevant political subdivision.”
Currently, 47 states and the District of Columbia require a citizen to be either a resident, or to be registered to vote, or both, for a period of time before voting. Voter residency or registration requirements of 20 days or more are in place in 40 states, and 27 of those require 30 days. Click here for Requirements by State.
McElveen reports Gov. Maggie Hassan signaled that a veto on the just-passed bill is likely. “This is the first-in-the-nation primary state,” Hassan said. “We value the right to vote. We should be encouraging people to vote.”
Granite State Taxpayers values the right to vote and to choose our legislators and the policies they promote.
We also believe that the rights of New Hampshire residents should not be undermined by allowing voters from other states to affect our elections and our lives, while having no need to deal with the consequences.
New Hampshire Voters should be New Hampshire Residents. Governor Hassan should sign SB179.