2019 Election Report
As of this writing, there are 1091 registered voters in Bennington: 278 Democrats, 322 Republicans, and 491 Undeclared. (Note: since the Libertarian candidate for Governor did not receive over 4% of the vote in the 2016 General Election, the Libertarian Party is no longer a party choice for the next 2 year cycle).
Since the last election report, there has been much activity at the State level over voter registration, particularly over what it means to "live" in the State of New Hampshire. It all hinges on the word "domicile", which is enshrined in the New Hampshire Constitution. The legislature, the Secretary of State, and the Courts have all weighed in, as well as the League of Women Voters and other organizations.
The right to vote is guaranteed by the New Hampshire Constitution, Article 11: "All elections are to be free, and every inhabitant of the state of 18 years of age and upwards shall have an equal right to vote in any election. Every person shall be considered an inhabitant for the purposes of voting in the town, ward, or unincorporated place where he has his domicile." But what is a domicile? Is it different from a residence? How long do you have to live somewhere before it becomes your domicile? Is it your domicile if you do not intend to stay very long?
The upshot of all this quibbling over a word played out this year like a Laurel and Hardy routine: First the Legislature passed a law, SB3, which, in a nutshell, required that persons wishing to register to vote in New Hampshire fill out a long and complicated form as well as providing "evidence of a verifiable action that establishes domicile." If they failed to do this on the day of voting, they had 10 days to provide proof, after which the supervisors of the checklist were required to investigate those voters who didn't provide proof, up to and including "Requesting 2 or more municipal officers or their agents or state election officers or their agents to visit the address and verify that the individual was domiciled there on election day."
The law ended up in court where evidence was heard about the confusing nature of the law, including how difficult the language on the voter registration forms was for the average layman to understand. A language expert determined that both the voter registration form and the follow-up form violated the best practices of plain language. For example, one sentence was 97 words long and had the grade level of 23 (equivalent to that of a doctoral candidate)! There were concerns that the confusing forms would cause long lines at the polls. In the end, the Judge ruled that the law did not achieve the desired intent, which was to prevent wrongful voting. At the same time, the court determined that the law ran the risk of disenfranchising legitimate voters and causing the disparate treatment of different groups of people.
Unfortunately, the Court decision was not reached until October 21. The Secretary of State and the Attorney General filed an emergency motion stating that it was too close to the election to change the forms, and the court upheld their motion. So we supervisors were forced to use a voter registration form that was both long and confusing.
We apologize. And we thank all of you who struggled along with us to understand what those forms meant.
There is currently a Bill, HB 105, being considered in the NH House of Representatives, which seeks to repeal SB3. There is another Bill, HB 106, which clarifies the term "residence" by adding the words "for the indefinite future" to the current language: "Residence or residency shall mean a person's place of abode or domicile. The place of abode or domicile is that designated by a person as his or her principal place of physical presence for the indefinite future to the exclusion of all others." What these words do is protect the right to vote for homeless people, college students, hospital residents, and other groups of people who live in a place temporarily.
It is important for all of us as citizens to keep track of these issues that impact our sacred right to vote. Any erosion of our democracy affects all of us. And while these election laws are certainly not as eye-catching as a lot of the click-bait that's running around these days, they certainly deserve our attention. Please remain vigilant.
Remember to come to the polls with your photo I.D. And if you are a new voter coming to register, be sure to bring something that ties you to your domicile: motor vehicle registration, drivers' license, any other government or school I.D. with your residence on it, school enrollment forms, public utility bills, landlord agreements, real estate sales agreements, tax bills, an affidavit signed by the property owner where you live, or any other evidence that ties you to the place where you currently live. If you have recently moved and do not have these proofs, YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO VOTE by signing an affidavit. Election officials in Bennington promise that we will do our best to make registering and voting as pleasant and painless as ever.
See you at the polls!
Brenda Gibbons
Melissa Searles
Victoria Turner
SUPERVISORS OF THE CHECKLIST
