NH does not need legislation born of right-wing conspiracy theories and baseless claims of mass voter fraud. HB 1569 is a solution looking for a problem. Gov. Sununu and our Secretary of State have both said that NH elections are fair and safe. HB 1569 requires proof of citizenship to vote and does away with the existing system where a person swears they are qualified to vote and must prove that within a few days or that vote is not counted. HB 1569 specifically requires a passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers. NH drivers’ licenses are not proof of citizenship. The bill could impact voters unknowingly removed from voter rolls, and doesn’t bring the specific documents to the polls.

A 2017 study by the Brennan Center for Justice reviewed votes in 42 jurisdictions in the 2016 election and revealed that only 30 votes out of 23.5 million votes were suspected to be votes by non-citizens. “The absence of fraud reinforces a wide consensus among scholars, journalists and election administrators: voter fraud of any kind, including non-citizen voting, is rare,” the report concluded. A New York Times investigation found just two possible instances of non-citizens illegally voting in the 2016 election out of more than 137 million ballots cast. HB 1569 is a voter suppression bill. If passed, NH would have the most restrictive voter registration system in the U.S., not an honor in a democracy. Please contact your legislators to oppose this bill. And let’s not elect conspiracy theorists to disrupt the election process.

Claudia Damon

Concord