CONCORD – Today Governor Chris Sununu signed SB 3 into law – creating an unfunded mandate for cities and towns, and long lines for same-day registration. SB 3 narrowly passed the New Hampshire House on June 1, with a 191-162 vote.
SB 3 severely tightens qualifications for voting in New Hampshire and potentially criminalizes legitimate same-day registration voters who cannot provide proof that they have performed a so-called “verifiable act,” such as buying a home or entering a formal lease — thereby effectively disenfranchising elderly, low income, and other vulnerable citizens, especially those who move in the months before an election and are unable to obtain sufficient proof. Under SB3, a voter who fails to provide evidence of domicile within 10 days faces a fine up to $5,000.
“SB 3 is an attack on eligible voters’ voting rights,” states Gilles Bissonnette, Legal Director of the ACLU of New Hampshire. “People shouldn’t be fined for exercising their right to vote and doing nothing wrong other than not returning to a government agency with certain paperwork—paperwork that these legitimate voters may not have. SB 3 is also a violation of voters’ privacy by sending government agents to voters' homes to check their documents. Requiring people to accept this government intrusion as a condition of voting will chill the right to vote.”