On May 7, the New Hampshire Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee passed HB 481. It moves the non-presidential primary from September to June. Because independent candidate petition deadlines and filing deadlines are tied to the date of the primary, the bill automatically moves the petition deadline from August to May. It moves the deadline for independent candidates to file a declaration of candidacy from June to March. The law on declaration of candidacy even applies to independent presidential candidates. Therefore, an independent presidential candidate must file by March.
A similar bill was vetoed by former Governor Chris Sununu in 2021.
I’m surprised the committee voted OTP as introduced considering they amended a similar bill (SB 222) that originated in the Senate earlier this year to decouple the petition deadline from the primary.
Good!