Bill > SB218

This bill modifies New Hampshire's absentee voting procedures by eliminating the requirement for outer envelopes in most circumstances, while providing more flexibility for voters and election clerks. Specifically, the bill allows absentee ballots to be returned without an outer envelope when hand-delivered to town or city clerks, whereas previously all absentee ballots were required to be enclosed in an outer envelope. The legislation also introduces new provisions that permit clerks to open outer envelopes to help voters cure potential defects in their ballot submissions. Additionally, the bill allows moderators to preprocess absentee ballots before election day, which can include opening outer envelopes, examining affidavits for errors, and highlighting voter names on checklists, though affidavit envelopes themselves cannot be opened during preprocessing. The changes aim to streamline the absentee voting process, reduce potential barriers to voting, and provide election officials with more tools to assist voters in ensuring their ballots are properly completed and counted. The new rules will take effect 60 days after the bill's passage, giving local election offices time to adapt to the updated procedures.

Government Affairs

https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=0930&sy=2025&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2025&txtbillnumber=SB218