1 week Ago
ON SEPTEMBER 12, Governor Chris Sununu signed into law HB 1569 . This new law will continue to uphold our Granite State’s proud tradition of honest and trusted election integrity. As a supervisor of the voter checklist in the Town of Windham, I believe this law will greatly strengthen our current election laws by requiring new prospective voters to provide election officials documentation that proves they are U.
S. citizens and proves their current domicile address. Governor Sununu stated, “We have a proud tradition and proven track record of conducting elections that are trusted and true.
Looking forward to the next decade or two, this legislation will instill even more integrity and trust in the voting process in our state.” Last year I approached Bob Lynn, my state representative and neighbor, and asked him to draft a new bill to sponsor that would eliminate the use of affidavits during the registration process of potential new voters. As a retired New Hampshire Supreme Court chief justice, Bob drafted bill HB1569, which supported by Ross Berry, former chairman of the House Election Law Committee.
Under current state election laws, a person wishing to register to vote for the first time must satisfy four criteria to qualify to become a legal voter: identity/age/U.S. citizenship/domicile residency.
If prospective applicants cannot or will not provide documentation to prove they are a U.S. citizen or their domicile address, they are presented a “U.
S. citizenship affidavit” and/or a “domicile affidavit” to sign. Chairman Ross Berry stated during one of the public hearings in the House chamber: “An affidavit system is ridiculous on face value.
It is little more than a signature on a piece of paper where someone pinky-promises they are telling the truth.” “After the 2016 general/presidential election, state investigators were unable to locate 230 people who had signed affidavits and were allowed to vote,” Rep. Bob Lynn stated in one of the hearings.
After each statewide general election, the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office estimates there are thousands of new voter registrations that are accompanied by signed affidavits from across all cities and towns. From an enforcement followup standpoint, what happens to these new voter applications with affidavits attached? The simple answer is nothing happens! There is little or no follow up by local election officials or by the Secretary of State’s Office due to manpower limitations. Why is this new law important now? According to Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) federal agency, there are currently about 15,000 illegal immigrants residing in our Granite State.
Once these people are able to obtain a state driver’s license, it has been reported that Democratic operatives assist these non-citizens in registering to vote. According to a recent Saint Anselm’s poll, 81% of all Granite State citizens believe in requiring an ID to vote. When HB1569 was voted on in the House and Senate, elected Democrats in both chambers voted against this legislation.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, says this new law is “anti-American.” State Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley says Republicans are cheating by enforcing voter ID laws. In summary, in order for us to continue to maintain integrity, honesty, and complete voter confidence in our future elections here in our Granite State, I believe we must vote straight Republican up and down our election ballots.
It is important to always remember Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte’s famous campaign slogan: “We in New Hampshire are one election away from becoming Massachusetts.”.
