Six New Hampshire state legislators have introduced HB 521, to establish a committee to study the state’s election laws. They are Senator John Reagan, and Representatives Kathleen Hoelzel, James Belanger, Lorrie Carey, Debra DeSimone, and Beverly Ferrante. All are Republicans except for Representative Carey, who is a Democrat.
The bill had a hearing on February 7. Darryl Perry, editor of Free Press Publications and a leading advocate for improving New Hampshire’s ballot access laws, testified in favor of the bill, and presented information about New Hampshire’s ballot access laws. The New Hampshire definition of “party” is so strict, New Hampshire is one of only three states in which no parties, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, have had qualified status since before November 1996. The other two such states are Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Georgia has given “party” status to the Libertarian and Reform Parties in part or all of the period since 1996, but they only enjoyed “party” status for statewide office, not district office.
New Hampshire legislative committees don’t make decisions about bills at the conclusion of committee hearings. Instead they think about the bill and the testimony and make a decision later, usually in a few weeks.
Where is that Model Election Law for the MORON robot party hacks in the State legislatures to look at ???
coverage from the Union Leader
http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130210/NEWS06/130219949/
Meanwhile, in the state Legislature, a House bill proposes a study committee to examine all of New Hampshire’s election laws and see where there’s room for improvement.
Rep. Kathleen Hoelzel, R- Raymond, is the prime sponsor. At a hearing last week, Hoelzel told fellow members of the House Election Law Committee that she envisions the study committee soliciting comments from state and local election officials about which laws work well and which may need updating.
David Scanlan, deputy secretary of state, told the committee his office supports the idea, but would not want the committee to consider early voting. “We just believe that it’s not a route the state should go down,” he said.
Representatives from America Votes and the League of Women Voters spoke in support of the bill.
Jessica Clark, New Hampshire political and field director for America Votes, urged committee members to reach out to local election officials who are on “the front lines” to get their ideas for making the voting experience a positive one.
Joan Flood Ashwell of the LWV said she would like to see more public education about voting. “New Hampshire is very, very different from any other state in the country, and anyone who moves here will be mystified by the way elections are conducted,” she said.
Three Keene residents who attended the hearing suggested the proposed study committee look into allowing minority parties and independent candidates to get on the ballot in New Hampshire.
Darryl Perry of the New Hampshire Liberty Party said “the perfect solution” to increase voter participation is “to create ballot access fairness.”
He said opponents claim that would create confusion. But, he said, “New Hampshire is actually very proud of the fact that they have a larger number of candidates running in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. So if ballot or voter confusion is not a problem for the primaries, why would it then all of a sudden become a problem for the general election?”
“The answer is: It’s not a problem,” he said.