New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights Statement on Senate Bill 70

For Immediate Release:

June 22, 2023

New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights Statement on Senate Bill 70

Concord, NH — Today, Senate Bill 70, legislation which would have created an Election Information Portal, died after falling just short of the requirement of unanimous support of all of the members of the Committee of Conference. This bipartisan legislation would have created an election information portal where voters could complete a voter registration application, update their voter information, and request an absentee ballot.

McKenzie St. Germain, Director of the Campaign for Voting Rights released the following statement: 

“We are deeply disappointed and discouraged by the failure of Senate Bill 70 after gaining support of 6 of the 7 members of the Committee of Conference. This legislation passed both chambers with strong bipartisan majorities and gained the support of Secretary of State Scanlan, yet the bipartisan compromise between the House and Senate could not move forward without unanimous consent.

We applaud Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka for bringing forward a widely supported compromise proposal, which would have created a much needed Election Information Portal while allowing the Secretary of State to utilize surplus Help America Vote Act funds to support voting technology for cities and towns, and we thank the members who supported that proposal.

However it remains frustrating that once again, the New Hampshire legislature has ultimately failed to execute on common sense legislation with broad support from both parties and the Secretary of State that would enact long-overdue election modernization, increase voter confidence, and support our local election officials. As other states continue to find ways to improve election security through modernization, New Hampshire's failure to pass an Election Information Portal, a version of which has been adopted by almost every other state in the country, shows how far behind we are falling. Granite State voters deserve more from their legislators, who must make it a priority to work together with the urgency necessary to bring our election infrastructure into the 21st century and preserve New Hampshire’s high standards for elections. We hope that when another opportunity to create an online election portal a reality comes, legislators do what they need to to get the job done.”

The New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights is a coalition of state and national advocacy organizations, voters, attorneys and watchdog organizations working to ensure and preserve the right to vote for every eligible Granite Stater. As a nonpartisan group, we advocate for voter enfranchisement, election security, and modernization for New Hampshire voters.

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