Under current New Hampshire law, an independent voter can “join” a qualified political party at the polls on primary day, vote in that party’s primary, and then immediately sign a form (at the polls) to go back to independent status. HB 196 would still let independent voters join a major political party at the primary polling place, and vote in that major party primary, but the bill would provide that that voter must then remain a member of that party, until he or she (after primary day) goes to the town clerk and requests a change back to independent status.

This bill has a hearing on Feb. 14. Also being heard on Feb. 14 is HB 272, which gives the Secretary of State even more authority than he already has, over the date of New Hampshire’s presidential primary. He already has the power to set the date of the primary, and state law tells him to set it 7 days before any other state’s primary. The bill adds a sentence that also gives him the authority to define what is meant by “primary”. The bill, if passed, would let him define “primary” to include a caucus.

The House Elections Law Committee still hasn’t voted on HB 48, the bill to ease the definition of “party” from a group that got 4%, to a group that got 2%, of the vote in the last election.