New Hampshire Republicans Advance Voter ID Bills

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The New Hampshire House passed two new voter ID bills on Friday that would add new barriers to voting in the Granite State. House Bill 292 establishes new requirements for voters requesting absentee ballots: If the ballot is being sent to any address different from the one the voter has on file with the city or town, they will be required to provide additional identification documentation. This could either be a copy of a photo ID that meets state requirements or a notarized signature on the absentee ballot application. House Bill 523 would require any same-day Election Day registrants who do not have a photo ID to have their photos taken at their polling place. H.B. 523 also would eliminate previous religious exemptions for some voters who were not required to show photo ID when registering. 

Both bills passed the state House thanks to Republican majorities. The Republican Legislature has proposed a whole host of voter suppression bills in the 2021 session as they continue to perpetuate former President Donald Trump’s “Big Lie.” These bills, especially H.B. 292, create disproportional barriers for college students, who have been the target of Republican suppression legislation for years. New Hampshire has one of the largest college student populations as a percentage of its total population in the country. You can read more about New Hampshire’s attack on student voting rights here.

Both bills now move to the state Senate for consideration. 

Read H.B. 292 and H.B. 523 here.