WE NEED EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE IN, AND SHARE THIS CALL TO ACTION. PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO THE ELECTION LAW COMMITTEE NOW AND ASK THEM TO OPPOSE SB70!
SB70 is supported by the Secretary of State and the Governor. The sponsors of the bill: (Prime) Sen. Gray (R), Dist. 6; Sen. Murphy, (R) Dist. 16
Election Law Committee email address: HouseElectionLawCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Email individual Committee Members:
Details:
The Election Law Committee will vote on SB70 on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 10:15 am, in the Election Law Room # 306-308 in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) behind the Capitol Building.
Please attend if you can to show them we are watching! Committee members can speak to the bill before they vote. We the people cannot speak, however we can unite and observe the voting process.
Here is a sample email to use:
Dear Election Law Committee Members,
Please OPPOSE SB70. If this bill passes it will open a door we do not want to walk through. It will allow citizens to register to vote, request an absentee ballot, and make changes to their personal information from their home computer with NO oversight or verification of information.
We all know computers have the potential to be hacked, otherwise we would not have the huge cyber security industry we currently have.
Please keep the voter registration process and any updates to voter information at the town and city clerk level and OPPOSE SB70.
Sincerely,
(Add your name)
Below is a summary of the bill details. For all of the information, please go here.
https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billinfo.aspx?id=1022&inflect=2
We believe SB70 will not show up on the House calendar because it is not a hearing where the public is allowed to comment. The committee will be voting on SB70 that day.
https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx
Title: relative to the establishment of an election information portal.
LSR Number: 23-1013
SPONSORS: (Prime) Sen. Gray (R), Dist 6; Sen. Murphy, (R) Dist 16
COMMITTEE: Election Law and Municipal Affairs
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Purpose. It is the intent of the legislature to modernize the application processes for new voter registration, requesting absentee ballots, and requesting changes to name, domicile, and party affiliation in the statewide voter database.
2 New Subdivision; Election Information Portal. Amend RSA 652 by inserting after section 27 the following new subdivision:
Election Information Portal
652:28 Election Information Portal.
I. The secretary of state is hereby authorized to develop, in consultation with the department of information technology, the department of safety, division of motor vehicles, and city and town clerks and supervisors of the checklist, an online election information portal which citizens may use to:
(a) Complete a new voter application.
(b) Request an absentee ballot.
(c) Request changes to the statewide centralized voter registration database, such as name, domicile address, mailing address, and party affiliation.
II. A request by the voter placed in the election information portal shall be submitted to the appropriate municipal official for verification and processing per RSA 654:7, RSA 654:8, RSA 654:16 through RSA 654:19, and RSA 654:34, except that the information may be provided in a format the secretary of state deems suitable for electronic submission. Any information submitted to the portal shall be handled in a manner consistent with relevant voter and election laws, including RSA 654, and shall be retrievable and printable at any time including during the processing of the information. In addition, nonpublic data related to individual voter data shall remain confidential.
III. The secretary of state shall not implement any election information portal established pursuant to this section, such that the public can access or otherwise utilize such portal, until January 1, 2024.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
SB 70-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the establishment of an election information portal.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | ||||
| STATE: | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 |
| Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Expenditures | $0 | $477,000 | $268,000 | $274,000 |
| Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
| LOCAL: | ||||
| Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Expenditures | $0 | IndeterminableIncrease | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill authorized the Secretary of State to develop an online election information portal, in consultation with the Department of Information Technology, the Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles, and city and town clerks and supervisors of the checklist, for people who may want to complete a new voter application, request an absentee ballot and request changes to the statewide centralized voter registration database, such as name, domicile address, mailing address, and party affiliation.
The Department of State indicates this bill would increase State General Fund expenditures starting in FY 2024. The estimated cost to design, build, and test the online election information portal is between $250k to $300k with ongoing maintenance fess of approximately $84,000 per year. The Department also indicates they will need two positions to create and maintain the portal (An Information Technology Manager V, labor grade 32, hired at a step 1 and a Program Assistant III, labor grade 17, hired at a step 1). The Department states the new system would take a minimum of 8 months to design, bid, build, test, and create training materials for the election information portal and the earliest it would be operational is May 2024.
| Costs | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 |
| New Portal | $300,000 | $0 | $0 |
| Maintenance Fees | $21,000 (3 months) | $84,000 | $84,000 |
| Information Technology Manager | $95,000(10 months) | $113,000 | $117,000 |
| Program Assistant | $61,000(10months) | $71,000 | $73,000 |
| Total | $477,000 | $268,000 | $274,000 |
This bill does not provide authorization or an appropriation for new positions.
The Department of Information Technology states they spoke with the Secretary of State’s office and confirmed the Department will not require any resources to support this effort.
The Department of Safety states there will be an indeterminable increase on State expenditures. The Department states there is an unknown cost associated with forms, rule making, system updates, and the amount Department of Motor Vehicle is tasked with overseeing the process.
