Section 654:12 Determining Qualifications of Applicant.
I. When determining the qualifications of an applicant, the supervisors of the checklist, or the town or city clerk, shall require the applicant to present proof of citizenship, age, and domicile, as provided in the following categories:
(a) Citizenship. The supervisors of the checklist, or the town or city clerk, shall accept from the applicant any one of the following as proof of citizenship: the applicant's birth certificate, passport, naturalization papers if the applicant is a naturalized citizen, a qualified voter affidavit, or any other reasonable documentation which indicates the applicant is a United States citizen. The qualified voter affidavit shall be in the following form:
Date: ____________________
QUALIFIED VOTER AFFIDAVIT (Identity, Citizenship, Age) Name: ______________________________ Name at birth if different: ______________________________ Place of birth: ______________________________ Date of birth: __________ Date and Place of Naturalization: ____________________________ I hereby swear and affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, that I am the identical person whom I represent myself to be, that I am a duly qualified voter of this town (or ward), that I am a United States citizen, that I am at least 18 years of age as of this date or will be at the next election, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information above is true and correct. ____________________ (Signature of applicant) In accordance with RSA 659:34, the penalty for knowingly or purposefully providing false information when registering to vote or voting is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Fraudulently registering to vote or voting is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000. On the date shown above, before me, ____________________ (print name of notary public, justice of the peace, election officer), appeared ____________________ (print name of person whose signature is being notarized), (known to me or satisfactorily proven (circle one)) to be the person whose name appears above, and he or she subscribed his or her name to the foregoing affidavit and swore that the facts contained in this affidavit are true to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. ____________________ Notary Public/Justice of the Peace/Official Authorized by RSA 659:30
(b) Age. Any reasonable documentation indicating the applicant is 18 years of age or older, or, if the applicant does not have reasonable documentation in his or her possession at the place and time of voter registration, a qualified voter affidavit.
(c) Domicile. Any reasonable documentation which indicates that the applicant has a domicile and intends to maintain a domicile, as defined in this chapter, in the town, city, or ward in which he or she desires to vote, or, if the applicant does not have reasonable documentation in his or her possession at the place and time of voter registration, an affidavit in the following form:
DOMICILE AFFIDAVIT Date: ____________________ Name: ____________________
Current Domicile Address: ____________________ Street Ward Number ____________________ Town or City Zip Code Date when current domicile was established: Month: _______ Year:_______ Place and date of birth: ____________________
Address of last previous domicile: ____________________ Street Ward Number ____________________ Town or City Zip Code
I hereby swear and affirm, under the penalties for voting fraud set forth below, that my established domicile is at the current domicile address I have entered above. I understand that I can claim only one city/town as my domicile at a time. A domicile is that place, more than any other, where I sleep most nights of the year, or to which I intend to return after a temporary absence. By registering or voting today, I acknowledge that I am not registering to vote or voting in any other city/town, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the information above is true and correct. ____________________ (Signature of applicant) In accordance with RSA 659:34, the penalty for knowingly or purposefully providing false information when registering to vote or voting is a class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of imprisonment not to exceed one year and a fine not to exceed $2,000. Fraudulently registering to vote or voting is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000. On the date shown above, before me, ____________________ (print name of notary public, justice of the peace, election officer), appeared ____________________ (print name of person whose signature is being notarized), (known to me or satisfactorily proven (circle one)) to be the person whose name appears above, and he or she subscribed his or her name to the foregoing affidavit and swore that the facts contained in this affidavit are true to the best of his or her knowledge and belief. ____________________ Notary Public/Justice of the Peace/Official Authorized by RSA 659:30
II. The supervisors may refuse to add the name of an applicant to the checklist if he or she fails to present the evidence or an affidavit as required by this section. Without limiting the acceptance of other forms of proof of domicile or identity deemed reasonable by the supervisors:
(a) Any one of the following documents is presumptive evidence that the individual seeking to vote meets the domicile requirement, provided the document is currently valid, was issued to or in the name of the applicant, and shows the address the applicant claims as a domicile:
(1) New Hampshire driver's license.
(2) New Hampshire vehicle registration.
(3) Armed services identification, or other photo identification issued by the United States government.
(b) Any one of the following is presumptive evidence of the identity of an applicant sufficient to satisfy the identity requirement for an official authorized by RSA 659:30 to take the oath of an applicant swearing to a qualified voter, domicile, or election day affidavit:
(1) Photo driver's license issued by any state or the federal government.
(2) United States passport, armed services identification, or other photo identification issued by the United States government.
(3) Photo identification issued by local or state government.
(c) The presumptions established in this paragraph may be defeated by evidence establishing that it is more likely than not that the applicant is not qualified as a voter.
III. To prove the qualifications set forth in paragraphs I and II, an applicant for registration as a voter must prove his or her identity to establish that the evidence used to prove age, citizenship, and domicile relate to the applicant. A person who has in his or her immediate possession a photo identification approved for use by paragraph II must present that identification when applying for registration. A person who does not have an approved photo identification with him or her may establish identity through any reasonable means, including, but not limited to: photo identification not approved by paragraph II, but determined to be legitimate by the supervisors of the checklist or clerk, verification of the person's identity by another person registered as a voter and known to the supervisor or clerk, or completion of the qualified voter affidavit. Residents of a nursing home or similar facility may prove their identity through verification of identity by the administrator of the facility or by his or her designee. For the purposes of this section, the application of a person whose identity has been verified by an official of a nursing home or similar facility shall be treated in the same manner as the application of a person who proved his or her identity with a photo identification.
IV. Any person who is applying for registration as a voter and who is currently registered to vote in a different town or ward in New Hampshire shall complete the voter registration form provided for in RSA 654:7. If the election official receiving the application confirms through the centralized voter registration database required by RSA 654:45 that the applicant is currently registered to vote in New Hampshire, the applicant shall prove identity and domicile, but shall not be required to prove his or her age or citizenship.
V. (a) The election official approving the application for registration as voter of a person who does not present an approved form of photo identification as proof of identity when registering, shall mark the voter registration form to indicate that no photo identification was presented. The person entering the voter information into the centralized voter registration database shall determine if the person is listed in the system as having been previously registered in the town or ward reported by the applicant on the voter registration form. If the person is a new registrant who has not been previously registered anywhere in New Hampshire or if the centralized voter registration database does not confirm a previous registration claimed on the voter registration form, the election official shall cause the record created in the centralized voter registration database to indicate that the person is a new applicant in New Hampshire and that no photo identification was presented. When municipalities enter information on people who register on election day into the centralized voter registration database, to the extent practical applicants who are registering for the first time in New Hampshire and who also register without presenting an approved photo identification shall be entered first.
(b) The secretary of state shall cause a letter of identity verification to be mailed by first class mail to each voter identified at a state general election as a first-time election day registrant in New Hampshire who also did not verify his or her identity with an approved photo identification. The letter shall be mailed within 90 days after the general election. The secretary of state shall mark the envelope with instructions to the United States Post Office not to forward the letter and to provide address correction information. The letter shall notify the person that a person who was unable to present photo identification registered or registered and voted using his or her name and address and instruct the person to contact the attorney general immediately if he or she did not register and vote.
(c) The secretary of state shall cause any letters mailed pursuant to subparagraph (b) that are returned as undeliverable by the United States Post Office to be referred to the attorney general. Upon receipt of notice from a person who receives a letter of identity verification that the person did not register and vote, or upon receipt of a referral from the secretary of state, the attorney general shall cause an investigation to be made to determine whether fraudulent registration or voting occurred.
Source. 1979, 436:1. 1990, 119:8. 1992, 287:6, 7. 1994, 4:3. 1996, 169:1. 2003, 289:29. 2006, 300:1, eff. Sept. 1, 2006. 2009, 278:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010.