The hearing for Senate Bill SB418 to require proof of identity, residency, and citizenship in order to vote in NH was held on 4/8/22. The room was swamped with opponents of the Bill who want NH elections to be open to anyone in the world.
The Prime Sponsor of SB418 is NH State Senator Bob Giuda. He testified before the House Election Law Committee on 4/8/22:
“Every living breathing person on the planet is not entitled to vote in NH. But under current law, any living breathing person on the planet can come here and vote. Think about that. I can come here and sign a piece of paper that says ‘I’m a citizen’, or ‘I live here’.
We’ve had over two and a half million people come across the southern border of the United States in the last few years, and more are coming. How do we know whether or not they’re here voting? We don’t.”
SB418 & SB328 are two “sister bills” that (if signed into law) will prohibit unqualified people from voting. Together, they will address what Senator Giuda calls “a gaping loophole”.
SB418 will ensure that only votes cast by qualified voters will be counted in an election’s certified results.
SB328 will move the date of NH’s primary to ensure there is enough time between the primary election and the general election in order to meet the requirements of SB418 and federal voting laws to ensure our military will have enough time to submit their votes for the subsequent general election.
Problem solved! But political opponents want unfettered access to vote in NH – and they showed up in force to oppose SB418. They presented unfounded FUD talking points (fear, uncertainty and doubt) to derail the legislation.
Over and over, they raised concerns that overseas military personnel would not have enough time to vote… but that concern is addressed with sister-bill SB328.
Over and over, they expressed concerns that SB418 may violate the NH Constitution… which is why Senator Giuda worked with State Rep Bob Lynn to write the Bill. Rep. Lynn is a retired Chief Justice of the NH Supreme Court. When I asked Rep. Lynn for his thoughts, he confirmed his belief the Bill is Constitutional. He should know!
There were concerns that implementing SB418 would be too confusing. The President of the League of Women Voters New Hampshire said the laws are getting more complicated, “Not for you and me, we understand what these laws are. But for the average voter, this threatens to make those eligible voters not vote.”
That’s nonsense. The Bill is clear. People will still be able to sign an affidavit on election day and vote – even if they forget to bring any of the three basic forms of documentation:
- Proof of Identity: a government issued photo ID, i.e. a license or passport.
- Proof of Domicile: a license or a utility bill with their address on it, etc.
- Proof of U.S. Citizenship: a passport or birth certificate.
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE is that SB418 will REQUIRE those who did not provide proof of their identity and/or domicile on election day – to do so within 10 days AFTER the election. Those voters will be given a pre-paid, pre-addressed overnight envelope that will be delivered to the Secretary of State’s office. That’s it. Trust but verify!
If that proof is not received by the NH Secretary of State within 10 days after the election, their votes will be deducted from the election day totals before the election results are certified. The Bill has mechanisms in place to retain every voter’s confidentiality similar to those that are currently in place for absentee voting.
Recently retired Secretary of State Bill Gardner and current Secretary of State Dave Scanlan both worked with Senator Giuda on this Bill.
SB418 brings integrity to NH elections that is sorely missing. If you believe that only qualified votes should be certified in every NH election, then contact the members of the House Election Law Committee (HouseElectionLawCommittee@leg.state.nh.us) and respectfully ask them to support SB418 and SB328.
When you write your email, feel free to quote the Committee Chair Barbara Griffin, who was in favor of closing the loophole in 2017, when she posted this article to the NH Journal titled “Close the Domicile Loophole in New Hampshire”. Here are a few excerpts:
For too long, many people voting in our state elections have been able to register to vote and vote without proving their domicile and showing that they live in their city or ward before voting.
This is ludicrous. The majority of Granite Staters, when registering to vote, show proof of domicile. Something that shows we live where we say we live: a driver’s license, an electric bill, a rental agreement or a motor vehicle registration or another commonsense piece of evidence that proves you live where you say you do.
But many people neglect this important step and refuse to show they are domiciled here and leave, on election day, with their vote counted regardless of whether or not they actually consider the state their domicile. They sign the state domicile affidavit without showing any proof of where they live and continue on their way.
This is called the domicile loophole. This loophole leaves our elections in New Hampshire vulnerable to fraud and abuse.
Together, SB418 and SB328 will fix that loophole. Both Bills have passed through the Senate and only need to be approved by the House in order to be sent to the Governor’s desk for his signature. If you care about free and fair elections in NH, then show your support for the Bill to counter the massive coordinated opposition who want to keep NH elections as open as the U.S. Southern border.
Only NH residents who prove they meet the legal qualifications should be allowed to cast a vote. Please email the Committee now and respectfully ask them to support SB418 and SB328: HouseElectionLawCommittee@leg.state.nh.us