America Votes - New Hampshire

Here are the facts: you do not need a photo ID to get an absentee ballot, a ballot on Election Day or, even to register to vote (see below). If you are a Republican, you can vote in the Republican Primary Election on January 10.  If you are a Democrat, you can vote in the Democratic Primary Election on January 10. If you are undeclared (independent), you may choose to vote in either Primary Election and then, usually, change your registration back to undeclared before you leave the polls.

In New Hampshire you may register to vote at the Town Clerk's Office or with the Supervisors of the Checklist up to 10 days before the Election, or at the polling place on Election Day.  You should bring the best identification information you have but, if you don't own a driver's license, passport or other photo ID, you can request a waiver (“affidavit”) to sign for your identification and for your address.

You may vote with an absentee ballot up to the day before an election. No Town or City Clerk should ask you for a photo ID before giving you an absentee ballot. If you're asked for a photo ID, refuse the request, and tell the clerk to check your registration signature if he or she questions your identity. The law clearly states they are supposed to check your signature when they receive your absentee ballot.

There is no requirement to show a photo ID to register to vote or before receiving a ballot. As long as you are at least 18 years old and a citizen who lives in the voting district, you have the right to vote under the U.S. and N.H. Constitutions. There are 30,000 to 50,000 voting age citizens in New Hampshire -- mostly the elderly and young people -- who do not possess a N.H. driver's license or other government ID. They deserve to have their votes count.

For a fuller explanation of voters’ rights, you can check the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire website.

Neither students nor universities are simply accepting the new restrictions that would disenfranchise a large number of young people. University of Wisconsin students are either receiving new ID cards that comply with state law, or they can request a supplemental ID to bring to the polls. Students in Pennsylvania are using baked goods to protest a house bill that would instate similar restrictions. The University of Pennsylvania College Democrats recently gave out free baked goods to only those students who could present a valid ID. Those who could not were instead given a box of raisins plastered with a sticker protesting HB 934.

Not all college students are treated fairly, either. In Wisconsin, 400,000 students attend technical colleges, and the student IDs issued by these schools are not acceptable as voting ID. These students make up 10% of the state's voting age population. State officials have oscillated between policies allowing the use of technical IDs, and those disallowing the same cards. A final decision should be reached by mid-December.

Unfortunately college students are not the only population facing disenfranchisement. About 25% of African American voters and 18% of elderly voters may lack appropriate ID. One 84 year-old woman provides a particularly compelling case against the hardships that this new law may cause. When Ruthelle Frank was born in Wisconsin in 1927 she was not issued a birth certificate. She is a citizen, has a social security card, and has voted regularly since 1948, but she lacks a proper ID card. To further complicate matters, while her local register of deeds has an official record of her birth; her name is misspelled on the record. She now faces a lengthy battle and a potential cost of $200 to correct this clerical error and receive a valid ID so that she may vote.

Ruthelle is one of many. 177,399 Wisconsinites, or 23% of those over age 65, do not have proper ID and now need to jump through bureaucratic hoops in order to vote. Minorities, of any age, are also disproportionately more likely to lack proper ID.

Whether a newly minted 18 year old attending college, or an 80 year old who has been voting for years, everyone deserves the right to vote. However new laws requiring strict adherence to showing a photo ID prior to voting, put this right in jeopardy.

From the Union Leader story:

The Senate voted 17-7 to sustain Lynch in his stance against Senate Bill 129. Senate President Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, and Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, were among those voting to sustain the veto.

Bragdon and Bradley both voted to pass the bill three months ago, when it passed 14-9 in the Senate.

Some Republicans said they support the idea of requiring photo ID from voters, but that they oppose the system of provisional ballots that the House added to their bill. A provisional ballot would have been required of anyone who could not present a valid state or federally-issued photo ID card.

Town clerks said the provisional ballots would force extra work on their offices, with longer hours, additional staff, late counting and less ballot secrecy for voters...

America Votes, a coalition of groups opposed to SB 129, said the veto "reinforces the integrity of elections in New Hampshire and ensures fair and equal access to the ballot."