Relative to agreements with the secretary of state for the use of accessible voting systems.
Summary
HB 67 revises New Hampshire law governing accessible voting systems used in elections by cities, towns, and school districts that have adopted the official ballot system. The bill requires each polling place to have at least one accessible voting system and directs local election officials to work with the secretary of state on programming, testing, setup, storage, and security for those systems. It also requires city and town clerks to enter into agreements with the secretary of state for use of the state-provided systems in local elections, and to share those systems with school clerks for school district elections held in the same municipality.
The bill also shifts responsibility for certain costs. Localities must pay the programming costs for city, town, and school district elections using the vendor selected by the secretary of state, while the secretary of state bears the programming costs for state and federal elections. The measure changes the expiration date of the existing pilot-sharing program from June 30, 2025 to December 31, 2025 and then makes the sharing program permanent thereafter, with the remainder of the act taking effect January 1, 2026.
Impact
HB 67 amends RSA 659:20-b to make the state’s accessible voting system sharing arrangement a permanent part of election administration rather than a temporary pilot. It expands and formalizes duties for the secretary of state, local clerks, and municipalities, and it creates an ongoing statutory framework for accessible voting system agreements, maintenance, security, and programming. The fiscal note indicates no new appropriations or positions, but it anticipates significant state expenditures from the Election Fund for replacement equipment and ongoing maintenance, along with smaller recurring local programming costs for municipalities and school districts.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally supportive of election accessibility, with the stated purpose of ensuring voters with disabilities have access to voting systems at polling places. The fiscal note and agency comments suggest the secretary of state views the bill as a continuation and modernization of an existing program, with the replacement of an aging system expected to improve usability and programming. No committee transcript or recorded vote information was provided, so the available context does not show organized opposition or debate, but the fiscal implications indicate that cost and implementation timing are the main practical concerns.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely cost allocation and implementation burden. Local governments and school districts are required to pay programming costs for their elections, while the state assumes programming costs for state and federal elections and must replace an aging accessible voting system estimated at $1.2 million to $1.5 million. Another issue is operational complexity: the current system is described as old, difficult to program, and hard to repair, which raises concerns about whether local clerks can manage the equipment securely and efficiently even as the program becomes permanent. The bill also requires formal agreements and coordination between the secretary of state and local clerks, which may be viewed as an administrative burden by some local election officials.