Gregg Protects N.H. Voting Exemptions
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2002–Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) succeeded in preserving two key New Hampshire exemptions-same-day registration on Election Day and no “motor voter” provisions– in an election reform bill that President Bush signed into law Tuesday.
Gregg said Wednesday he felt the exemptions were important because “New Hampshire has an extremely aggressive and effective election system.” He added that because the state has relied heavily on local election officials to oversee elections, “it has allowed us to deliver elections to people in the most effective way with integrity.”
New Hampshire, along with five other states, will continue to be exempt from federal motor voter laws, which allow voter registration at department of motor vehicle offices. The other states are Idaho, Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
According to Patricia Little, city clerk for Keene, motor voter registration creates additional problems for voters instead of making the process easier. The problem, she said, is that every time people visit the department of motor vehicles they are asked about registration, regardless of their current voting status.
“The bureaucracy that results from motor voter is much worse than the bureaucracy from same-day registration,” Little said. “The people aren’t even there to register, they’re just there for [department of motor vehicle] social services.”
Additionally, voters in New Hampshire will still be allowed to register on Election Day, under an exemption from the new law’s provisional voting regulations.
Under those regulations, voters will be allowed to cast their ballots even if their names are absent from the registration list at their voting precinct. Election commissioners would then have seven to 10 days to verify the validity of a voter’s registration status.
Gregg said there is no need for provisional voting in New Hampshire because regardless of their status, voters can register on the spot when they go to vote on Election Day.
“Election Day registration in a small state where there is a high level of integrity is very appropriate, although it might not work in New York City,” Gregg said. “If you have this, you don’t need provisional voting.”
The new law, which the Senate passed earlier this month by 92-2 and the Houseapproved,357-48, was a reaction to the issues that arose in Florida in the 2000 election-including concerns about voters’ registration that could not be verified in time to allow them to vote. Joining Gregg in favor of the bill, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, were New Hampshire Sen. Bob Smith (R-N.H.) and Rep. John E. Sununu (R-1st). Rep. Charles Bass (R-2nd) did not vote.
Bill Gardner, who has been New Hampshire’s secretary of state since 1976, lauded Gregg for his efforts on the bill.
“I appreciate the considerable time and effort undertaken by Sen. Gregg to make sure New Hampshire is able to retain control of how we run our own elections,” Gardner said in a statement. “In New Hampshire, we have seen a constant increase in voter turnout and more accurate and efficient elections in the past few years.”
During an interview, Gardner said the problem with the new law is similar to the problems in the 1993s Voter Registration Act–which enacted the motor voter provision–in that it attempts to create a blanket solution for every area of the country.
“The problem with the federal law was that it affected metro areas as much as rural areas, and what you need in a city is not what you need in the country,” Gardner said. “We didn’t need to have the problem areas fixed because they didn’t exist.”
According to Gregg, Gardner was instrumental in explaining the importance of the New Hampshire exemptions to the staff of Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.). Dodd, the author of the legislation, had initially opposed the exemptions. Gardner said the more Dodd’s office found out about New Hampshire’s voting system, the more his support increased because “they certainly couldn’t argue with the turnout, and New Hampshire has one of the highest voter turnouts in the country.”
Gardner said New Hampshire has been ahead of the curve with voting procedures because of the high number of elections in the state as well as the number of recounts following many close elections in the state. With 400 members, New Hampshire has the largest state House of Representatives in the country, accounting for many of the elections.
“In a state like Florida, you don’t become aware of problems as quickly as you do with a state that has a lot of recounts,” Gardner said. For example, Gardner said, New Hampshire banned punch card voting machines in 1986 after discovering the amount of inaccurate counting that occurred.
While approximately $5 million of the $3.9 billion the new law authorizes is supposed to go to New Hampshire, Gardner said he is concerned about whether Congress will even appropriate the authorized funds. He pointed out that much of the money that was supposed to be spent to carry out the Voter Registration Act was never appropriated.
“Until they appropriate the money, I’m not sure how much of this bill will be administered,” he said.
According to Gardner, the funds would be used to build a statewide database, in which registered voters’ names could be checked instantaneously, and to buy the computers and hardware necessary for each town to link to the system. Additionally, money could be spent on voter education, training of election officials and purchase of voting machines that would allow blind people to vote without assistance.
Gregg, however, said he believes the problem will not be appropriating the money but making sure each state spends it effectively.
“I think we’re going to see the reverse a lot more,” Gregg said. “Places like Broward County [Florida] are going to go out and buy new equipment because they have the money and then find out it doesn’t even work, like they did in the [recent] primary with the touch-screen voting machines.”
Published in The Keene Sentinel, in New Hampshire.
