It seems that what you say to a reporter at Foster’s is totally ignored if it is not what he wants to write about.
Foster’s wrote about the hearing twice, but missed the point.
We accept limited information from same day voters if the are “given the opportunity” (the AG’s words), to fill out a same day voter affidavit.
There is no way a citizen can check on a voter registration card to see…
1. a signature
2. a birth date
3. the place last registered
…as we could pre-dismantling of the election laws back in the mid-90’s.
A citizen has no way of matching information with other public information to challenge a voter who he believes is not a NH resident.
From Foster’s:
Voters’ petition spurs ballot hearing
By Casey Conley
cconley@fosters.com
Friday, March 20, 2015
DOVER — The state’s Ballot Law Commission is meeting Monday in Dover to consider a resident’s request to review the city’s voter rolls.
Depending on the commission’s findings, every voter in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4 could be required to re-register in person next year before the 2016 Presidential election, according to the N.H. Secretary of State’s office.
Former Dover City Councilor David Scott requested the Ballot Law Commission verify the voter checklist in those wards under a little-used provision in the state law.
RSA 654:38 allows residents to formally request an investigation into voter rolls if they submit a petition with sufficient signatures. This is the first time the provision has been used in at least 40 years, Assistant Secretary of State Karen Ladd said.
Scott, who is active in local Republican circles, requested in a Dec. 4, 2014 petition that registered voters “who do not meet the qualifications for registered voters in those wards respectively” be removed from the voter checklist. Some 250 city residents from Wards 1-4, including several who have run for state office as Republicans, signed the petition.
A group of Dover residents apparently mailed letters to nearly 1,000 voters who registered on Nov. 4, 2014, the most recent election. In an op-ed that ran Thursday in Foster’s Daily Democrat, Scott said 70 of those letters were returned as undeliverable.
In a brief interview Thursday, he said the petition aims to ensure “we have a better, more accurate vote for the next presidential election.”
He said evidence of problems with the voter checklist will be presented during Monday’s hearing, in City Hall at 1 p.m.
Dover City Attorney Anthony Blenkinsop will argue on Monday that the review Scott has requested is not necessary.
“From the city’s perspective, we follow state law, regarding maintenance, of our voter checklist,” Blenkinsop said Thursday. “Obviously, in addition to state law, we follow guidance put forward by the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office and the Department of Justice and we are confident that we maintain the checklist in accordance with those requirements and guidance.”
The five-person Ballot Law Commission will invite comment from residents and officials on both sides of the issue during Monday’s hearing. The commission, whose members are appointed by the governor and state Legislature, can accept or deny the petition, said Dave Scanlon, a deputy Secretary of State.
If the commission accepts the petition, roughly 15,000 voters in Wards 1, 2, 3, and 4 will need to re-register between April 1 and June 1 of next year. Voters will receive a letter explaining the process and when and how they can re-register. Those who do not register, during those sessions, are removed from the voter checklist.
Blenkinsop said it’s virtually certain that duly registered voters would fail to re-register under that process. Although these people could still register on the day of the election, he said long lines and other issues could keep some people from voting.
New Hampshire has a formal process to clean up the voter rolls once a decade. Those who have voted within the last four years stay on the local checklist, while those who have not receive a letter requesting confirmation. Those who do not respond are removed.
The city also receives alerts when residents who are registered to vote in Dover register in another municipality. Those voters, as well as residents proven to be deceased, are removed from the checklist immediately.
Because this type of request is so unusual, Ladd isn’t sure if the commission will issue a decision Monday or few days later.