HB 420 - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0726
08/11
HOUSE BILL 420
AN ACT relative to the chain of custody for ballots.
SPONSORS: Rep. Sabourin, Rock. 30; Rep. Panek, Hills. 1; Rep. Wood, Merr. 13; Rep. Bernardy, Rock. 36; Rep. Wherry, Hills. 13; Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. Belcher, Carr. 4; Rep. Tim Mannion, Hills. 1; Rep. Tom Mannion, Hills. 1; Rep. Sellers, Graf. 18
COMMITTEE: Election Law
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
This bill further defines security measures for the storage and transfer of ballots.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0726
08/11
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACT relative to the chain of custody for ballots.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Secretary of State to Prepare Containers, Sealers. Amend RSA 659:97 to read as follows:
659:97 Secretary of State to Prepare Containers, Sealers. The secretary of state shall, before any state election, prepare and distribute to each town and ward clerk reusable security containers to be used for preserving ballots and sealers to seal each such container. He or she shall[ prepare] provide special locking containers [and] with serialized proprietary sealers to be used for preserving any special and separate ballots for questions to voters. The secretary of state shall prescribe the size and form of such containers and sealers, which shall be frangible paper seals, and shall prescribe the form of any endorsement blank printed upon the sealers, provided that the blank is in substance consistent with the provisions of RSA 659:95.
2 Delivery of Ballots to Town Clerk. Amend RSA 659:98 to read as follows:
659:98 Delivery of Ballots to Town Clerk. The moderator, or the moderator's designee, and the selectmen, or their designee, after they have sealed and certified the state election ballots as provided in RSA 659:95 and RSA 659:96, shall deliver the sealed and locked containers to the town or city clerk, or to the clerk's designee, who shall in their presence enter in the appropriate place on each sealer the time of day and shall sign his or her name in the appropriate blank on the sealer. The clerk or the clerk's designee shall, without breaking the seals or otherwise changing the condition of the containers, deposit the containers in the town or city hall. Containers containing ballots and absentee balloting materials that have been sealed after an election according to instructions provided by the secretary of state shall be stored in a location under the direction of the clerk. A log shall be maintained by the clerk specifying the location and the containers at the location. Once stored, the containers shall be accessible only to individuals working under the direction of the town clerk, as required for recounts, or as necessary for the secretary of state to verify the container storage. When the containers are removed to allow for destruction of ballots in accordance with RSA 33-A:3-a, the destruction of the ballots and absentee balloting materials shall be the final entry in the log.
3 Forwarding Ballots to the Secretary of State. Amend RSA 659:99 to read as follows:
659:99 Forwarding Ballots to the Secretary of State. If any person shall make a request for a recount as provided in RSA 660, or if the secretary of state shall request the ballots of the recent election, the clerk having the custody of such ballots shall, at the request of the secretary of state, forward the ballots forthwith to the secretary of state, noting on the chain of custody documentation the time and date the ballots are forwarded to the secretary of state who will certify on the chain of custody documentation what time the ballots are received.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.