All registered voters who want to request an absentee ballot in New Hampshire will need to show photo identification starting Tuesday.
The new law, which passed with Republican support in Concord, brings the process of absentee voting in parallel with in-person voting requirements, which already require people to show a photo ID at the polls when they seek a ballot.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, which issued detailed guidance to local election officials about a slate of voting law changes, there are three ways people seeking to vote with an absentee ballot can satisfy the new requirements.
First, voters can present their photo ID in person at their local town or city hall when requesting an absentee ballot. Second, people can mail in a photocopy of their photo ID. Finally, people can have a notary sign off on their absentee ballot application.
In August, a group of visually impaired residents sued to block the new identification provisions, arguing it would present an undue burden on people with disabilities, who may be more likely to vote absentee.
“It is precisely those voters—who will struggle with scanning or printing a copy of their photo identification, or will find it very difficult to obtain notary services or travel to a town or city clerk’s office—on whom the burden of SB 287 will fall the heaviest,” the lawsuit alleged. That lawsuit is ongoing. For now, the provisions will go into effect Sept. 30.
A separate law passed this session requires any first time would-be voters who register with an absentee form to now mail in proof of their U.S. citizenship as part of their application. According to the Secretary of State’s office, only a small number of people register to vote using mail-in paperwork. Anyone seeking to register to vote in person in New Hampshire for the first time is already required to show proof of their U.S. citizenship. That policy is also being challenged in court.
One other change to elections laws that took effect earlier this month relates to clothes, hats and other political paraphernalia people may wear to vote. In the past, anyone wearing so-called “electioneering clothing” such as a t-shirt with a candidate’s name or face, or an item of clothing that bore a political message, would be asked to remove that item before entering the polling place.
This has caused confusion and led to at least one voter choosing to cast a ballot in the buff after being asked to remove a politically-themed t-shirt.
Under a new policy, voters who are unable to remove an article of clothing or have no ability to cover up their slogan will now be allowed to vote. They just have to do it expeditiously — “i.e. not lingering unnecessarily” — according to guidance from the Sec. of State’s office.
