Bill Text: NH HB521 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizing online voter registration.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-20 - Public Hearing: 02/25/2025 03:10 pm Legislative Office Building 306-308 [HB521 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2025-HB521-Introduced.html
HB 521-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0052
07/08
HOUSE BILL 521-FN
AN ACT authorizing online voter registration.
SPONSORS: Rep. M. Paige, Rock. 11; Rep. Lane, Merr. 16; Rep. Muns, Rock. 29; Rep. Read, Rock. 10; Rep. Ebel, Merr. 7
COMMITTEE: Election Law
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes online voter registration.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0052
07/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACT authorizing online voter registration.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Online Voter Registration. Amend RSA 654 by inserting after section 7-c the following new section:
654:7-d Online Voter Registration.
I. Beginning July 1, 2025, a person may register to vote by submitting an online voter registration application in accordance with this section.
II. The secretary of state shall establish a secure Internet website to permit an applicant to:
(a) Submit an online voter registration form.
(b) Submit information necessary to establish an applicant’s qualifications to vote, pursuant to RSA 654:12.
(c) Swear to the oath required by RSA 654:7.
III. The secretary of state shall establish appropriate technological security measures, including use of a unique identifier for each applicant, to prevent unauthorized persons from altering a voter’s registration information.
IV.(a) No person without an identification issued by the New Hampshire department of safety, division of motor vehicles shall be able to register through the online voter registration system.
(b) The department of safety, division of motor vehicles shall provide the online voter registration application system all information necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section.
(c) The online voter registration application form shall require a valid electronic mail address for the voter in order to complete the online voter registration application.
(d) The online voter registration application system shall include a disclaimer to the applicant of possible criminal liability pursuant to paragraph XI.
V.(a) The online voter registration application system shall compare the New Hampshire driver's license number or New Hampshire nondriver's picture identification number submitted pursuant to this section with information maintained by the department of safety, division of motor vehicles, to confirm that the name and date of birth on the application are consistent with the records of the department of safety, division of motor vehicles.
(b) If the applicant’s name and date of birth are consistent with the records of the department of safety, division of motor vehicles, the online voter registration application system shall transmit, using the statewide centralized voter registration database maintained pursuant to RSA 654:45, the applicant’s submission, including the digital signature of the applicant, to the appropriate supervisors of the checklist to add the applicant’s name to the checklist. The applicant’s digital signature shall satisfy the signature requirement of RSA 654:7, IV. The applicant shall be required to submit an original signature to the supervisors of the checklist prior to voting in the first election after registering online. An online registrant shall not be eligible to receive an absentee ballot until his or her original signature is on file with the supervisors of the checklist.
(c) If the applicant's name, last 4 digits of his or her social security number, citizenship, legal and/or physical mailing addresses, and date of birth cannot be verified by the records of the department of safety, division of motor vehicles, or the applicant indicated that he or she has not been issued a New Hampshire driver's license or New Hampshire nondriver's picture identification card, the online voter registration application system shall notify the applicant by electronic mail that his or her online voter registration was ineffective and inform the applicant of alternative methods of registration.
VI. Upon submission of a completed online voter registration application, the website shall generate an electronic confirmation that the supervisors of the checklist have received the application and shall provide instructions regarding the ability of an applicant to check the status of the application. Once the supervisors of the checklist have added the applicant to the checklist, the applicant shall be notified by electronic mail, including information about where the applicant is registered to vote.
VII. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the supervisor of elections shall process the application pursuant to RSA 654:13.
VIII. If a person submits an application pursuant to the provisions of this section after the 10th day before an election, the applicant shall not be added to the checklist until the day after the election. The supervisors of the checklist may contact such applicant, either by telephone or mail, in order to inform the applicant of the effect of the late-received application and the ability of the person to register in person on election day.
IX. The online voter registration system shall conform to nationally accepted standards for accessibility for individuals with disabilities such as section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, section 255 of the Communications Act, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium to ensure equal access to voters with disabilities.
X. With the exception of the requirement that no person without an identification issued by the New Hampshire department of safety, division of motor vehicles shall be able to register, no legal distinction shall be made between online registration under this section and registration in person, by mail, or other methods provided by general law.
XI. A person using the online voter registration application system to register to vote using any name other than his or her own shall be considered to have violated RSA 659:34.
2 Centralized Voter Registration Database. Amend RSA 654:45, I (a) to read as follows:
I.(a) The secretary of state is authorized to plan, develop, equip, establish, site, and maintain a statewide centralized voter registration database and communications system, hereinafter referred to as the voter database, connecting users throughout the state. The voter database shall include the current information on the voter registration forms, the accepted absentee ballot applications, the voter checklists, and voter actions as recorded on the marked checklist maintained by each city, ward, and town in the state, including in accordance with the provisions and authority in RSA 654:7-d. The database shall maintain addresses in accordance with United States Postal Service standardized addresses as described in the current USPS Publication 28.
3 Funding of Implementation. The department of state shall fund the implementation of this act when general fund appropriations are made for that purpose to the department of state.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
25-0052
1/7/25
HB 521-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT authorizing online voter registration.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to complete a fiscal note for this bill as it is awaiting information from Department of State. The Department was contacted on 12/23/24 for a fiscal note worksheet. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the House Clerk's Office.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of State
