CONCORD, N.H. — A new measure aimed at stopping so-called “drive-by” voting drew more than 100 citizens and activists to hearings held by the Election Law and Internal Affairs Committee in Concord Tuesday, with many expressing concerns about the proposal’s impact on voting.
Under Senate Bill 3’s language, persons in the state for fewer than 30 days would have to prove their intent to make the state their “domicile” in order to register to vote.
The bill would also change registration requirements for everyone, specifying types of proof needed to register.
For college students, registration would require proof of residence such as records of dormitory fees paid that would prove that they live in university dorms in state. For most, identification such as a driver’s license or New Hampshire state photo ID will suffice.
The bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Regina Birdsell, R-Hamsptead, explained that SB3 will clarify who can register to vote in New Hampshire, and how.
“This is a common sense piece of legislation that clarifies what it means to be domiciled in New Hampshire,” Birdsell said. “Making changes to the currently confusing and unclear voter domicile laws have had wide support by New Hampshire voters and Secretary of State Bill Gardner.”
“By passing this bill, the Senate will finally clarify that domicile is more than just a state of mind by requiring proof after voting if they are unable to do so on Election Day. This will ensure that only those with a vested interest in New Hampshire’s communities vote in an election,” she added.
State Republicans have proposed several bills to prevent voter fraud following claims by President Trump and others that Massachusetts and other out-of-state residents traveled to the state to vote illegally in 2016.
“The bill is an attempt to prevent ‘drive-by’ voting ... you can’t just drive into the state, vote and leave,” Secretary of State Bill Gardner said.
No evidence has been presented to substantiate claims that out-of-state buses delivered ineligible people to vote illegally en masse, Gardner has also said previously.
State Democrats lambasted the bill as part of a broader nationwide effort to eliminate voting rights.
“Today we heard arguments in favor of SB3, the election law bill that would, among other things, allow police officers to knock on your door and check your papers after Election Day to see if you voted legally,” N.H. Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement.
“This is a wild overreach and a violation of our right to privacy, something the ‘Live Free or Die’ state holds dear. It is all in service of a broader effort by Republicans across the country to make voting more cumbersome, frustrating, and in some cases, downright impossible.”
If approved and signed into law in its current form, SB3 would require a person registering to vote who has been present in the state for fewer than 30 days to provide proof that they intend to stay, to make the state their “domicile.”
Enrolling a child in a local public school, arranging to receive mail at an in-state homeless shelter and “verification of residency at an institution of higher learning” are all means to proving that a person is not a so-called “drive-by voter” who intends to vote and then leave.
“If you register to vote 30 days or less before the election, you are considered temporary, and you have to show documentation that you are not just a tourist, for whatever temporary purpose,” Gardner said.
If a person considered temporary does not have needed proof to register election day, that person can still vote, Gardner said.
Under SB3, he or she will need to fill out an affidavit and get back to election officials, or face a possible letter from him, or a police visit — decided by the town’s Supervisors of the Checklist.
“If they don’t have identification, if they don’t have something that can be some documented proof that they meet (the requirement) to be a registered voter, then they have to fill out an affidavit.
“They have to get back and show that information that they established a domicile here — and there are six or seven ways, and a (even) homeless person can do that. If they fail to do that, then they could face charges.”
Birdsell was adamant that the reforms were not aimed at disenfranchising student voters with its stricter registration requirements.
“You just have to bring your bill, if your bill gets mailed to the dormitory, you just need to show that there’s at least an intent that you’re staying there. You can use that to establish your residency,” Birdsell said.
“It is absolutely not intended to prevent students from voting. It’s temporary workers that we want to make sure that if you say that you’re domiciled here, then you show intent that you want to stay in the community.”
Birdsell said she’s confident the bill will move forward although she said she had not spoken to Gov. Chris Sununu about it yet. She plans on seeing him at a fundraiser in the near future and will ask him about it then.
“We want to make sure that when they say that they’re domiciled, we ask that they bring (proof) to town hall.”
“This amendment is, as I said before, to me, it is trust but verify — we want people to vote in New Hampshire,” Birdsell said.
