Letter to Secretary of State William Gardner - Judicial Activism Disenfranchises NH Legal Resident Voters

September 28, 2012

Hon. William M. Gardner

Secretary of State

Concord, NH

Dear Secretary Gardner:

We are writing to express our concern and disappointment over the recent Strafford County Superior Court ruling regarding Voter Identification and Registration rules for the State of New Hampshire via the suit brought against the State of New Hampshire by The League of Women Voters and the NH Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Under Article 11 of the New Hampshire Constitution, domicile is a factual prerequisite to voting. Domicile is commonly defined as the place where an individual has his true, fixed, permanent home and principal establishment, the place to which he intends to return whenever he is absent. You may only have one domicile and there are legal consequences inherent in that status. More importantly, you may not declare a domicile for a mere special or limited purpose such as voting.

Judge Lewis’ contention, that "out of state" college students would somehow be disenfranchised, is simply incorrect. All eligible voters remain free to vote in the state where they are domiciled, either in person, or by absentee ballot. In fact, allowing out of-state college students to vote without requiring them to accept the responsibility of their domiciled status disenfranchises New Hampshire voters who are properly domiciled. The constitutional requirement must be the same for all of us.

It has come to our attention that your office and the Attorney General plan to appeal this decision to the NH Supreme Court.

We wholeheartedly support that decision, and urge the process to be expedited, so long as the proper constitutional arguments have been presented to the trial court. If not, immediate steps should be taken in the trial court to ensure that the constitutionality of this law can be demonstrated to the Supreme Court.

As you know, it is the solemn responsibility and duty of the NH Attorney General to vigorously defend the law of the land as passed this year in chaptered law 0284 (a/k/a SB289, 2012), 0285 (a/k/a SB318, 2012), and the relevant RSAs: 285:1,2, 654:7, 12, 659:13, 284:1, et al.

The vast majority of the members of the General Court and citizens of our State are paying great attention to this case and the threat this ruling has to the integrity of our elections process, if it persists.

Our expectation for adequate, vigorous, and zealous representation by the Secretary of State and especially the State’s Attorney General on behalf of our citizens and their government cannot be overstated.

Thank you for your support, and please let us know if we can be of assistance in any way in this process.

Sincerely,

Representative Daniel Tamburello, Londonderry

Representative Jason Antosz, Epping

Representative Mike Ball, Manchester

Representative Al Baldasaro, Londonderry

Representative Spec Bowers, Sunapee

Representative John Burt, Goffstown

Representative Joe Duarte, Candia

Representative Jack Flanagan, Brookline

Representative J. Brandon Giuda, Chichester

Senator Fenton Groen, Rochester

Representative Warren Groen, Rochester

Representative JR Hoell, Dunbarton

Representative Laura Jones, Rochester

Representative Paul LaCasse, Claremont

Representative Don LeBrun, Nashua

Representative Andrew Manuse, Derry

Candidate David Martin, Dover

Representative Frank McCarthy, North Conway

Representative Phil Munck, Somersworh

Representative Brian Murphy, Rye

Representative Jeanine Notter, Merrimack

Representative Jeff Oligny, Hampstead

Representative Laurie Pettengill, Bartlett

Representative Michael Reed, Nashua

Representative Matt Swank, Manchester

Representative Kyle Tasker, Northwood

Representative Joanne Ward, Stratham

Representative James Webb, Derry

NH House Moves to Intervene, Reconsider in Court Case Relative to Voter Registration Forms

Ensure that Legislative Intent is Included

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien today announced that the House of Representative has moved to intervene in the Hannah Rivers v. State of New Hampshire case relative to the implementation of a law passed this year, Senate Bill 318.  The motion also requests reconsideration of the Strafford Superior Court judge’s earlier ruling to offer an injunction against a portion of the law.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“Today, the House is moving to intervene in this case and ask for reconsideration in order to ensure that the legislative intent of Senate Bill 318 is presented to the court.  Unfortunately, in its legal arguments before the Superior Court, the Department of Justice failed to state the very reason why the Legislature passed this bill.  Without that reason being stated, the Supreme Court would not have a true opportunity to consider why this law is in effect if this went straight to appeal.  Consequently, it is vital we ask for reconsideration to ensure that the constitutionality of the law becomes part of the record.  It’s unfortunate that the Attorney General’s office hasn’t made the strongest case for this law, but the House is committed to giving this duly-passed law the defense it deserves.  The people of New Hampshire clearly understand that if someone lives in another state, they should vote there, and if they live here, they should vote in New Hampshire.  They also know that if you live here and are voting here, you must become a resident.  I have met with the Secretary of State and he fully supports this effort, and realizes that this is a necessary step in preserving this important law.”

Motion To Reconsider

Motion to Intervene

NH House Leaders Comment on Governor Not Signing Voter ID Fix

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today released the following statement in response to news that House Bill 1354 passed into law without the Governor’s signature. HB 1354 aimed at fixing the affidavit requirement in the recently passed voter ID law, which was an issue the Governor Lynch had indicated he wanted to see addressed.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“It’s disappointing the Governor didn’t have the wisdom to sign this good bill into law. He said he had issues with voter ID, we fixed them, and he still chose not to show his support. Once again the Governor has shown a complete lack of leadership. We hope all candidates for governor plan to lead from ahead and not behind if elected.”

House Majority Leader Pete Silva

“The vast majority of New Hampshire voters will be disappointed to learn that in one of his last acts on legislation, this Governor has chosen not to act on this common sense solution to the pressing need to ensure honest elections. We need to protect the integrity of the ballot box and ensure the ‘one man, one vote’ principle. These actions will help improve the validity and equality of our election system while we join the 30 other states who have voter ID laws.”

NH House Leaders Comment on Override of Voter ID Veto

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today released the following statement on the override of the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 289, requiring a voter present valid photo identification to vote. The House overrode the bill 231 to 112, within the necessary 2/3^rds of members present and voting.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“This voter ID bill is a well-structured approach to ensuring clean elections. New Hampshire now has one more tool to protect the integrity of the ballot box and guarantee that the ‘one person, one vote’ principle is not diluted by dishonest votes.”

House Majority Leader Pete Silva

“Passing voter ID and strengthening voter laws in New Hampshire have been priorities of House Republicans and we are thrilled to finally pass this into law. Today, our citizens have to show an ID to get on a plane, on a bus, to pick up a package and to enter a federal building.  It certainly is not a major imposition to ask for a driver’s license or other ID in order to protect the integrity of voting.”

NH House Leaders Comment on Override of Voter Registration Forms Veto

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today released the following statement on the override of the Governor’s veto of Senate Bill 318, which modifies voter registration to pre-2007 forms and makes clear to voters that only domiciled New Hampshire citizens can vote in our elections. The House overrode the bill 232 to 110, within the necessary 2/3^rds of members present and voting.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“It is now clear that in order to vote in New Hampshire one must be a resident of New Hampshire. That’s both common sense and easy to understand. No explanation beyond a desire for non-New Hampshire voters to participate in New Hampshire elections can adequately explain why the Governor chose to veto this reasonable bill. We are pleased we were able to pass override the veto and uphold the House position today. Each candidate for Governor needs to clearly explain to voters his or her position whether voting in New Hampshire should be limited to New Hampshire residents.”

House Majority Leader Pete Silva

“There is no reason we shouldn’t be informing voters that they can only be domiciled in one place and can only vote in one city, town or state in a given election. By overriding the Governor’s veto today we have ensured more information and transparency in our voting process which will help to deter voter fraud and support integrity in New Hampshire elections.”