Voter Eligibility Bill Clears N.H. Senate Along Party Lines

A Republican bill adding new requirements for proving voter eligibility has cleared the state Senate along party lines. The measure would require create more stringent verification requirements for people registering to vote close to an election.

Lawmakers this year have considered dozens of GOP-backed bills aimed at fighting potential voter fraud. But Senate Bill 3, which seeks to tighten the definition of domicile for voting purposes, is the one leaders most want to become law. As she opened what proved to be a lengthy - and at at times prickly - debate on the bill, Senator Regina Birdsell, its prime sponsor, cast it as a benign effort to better spell out and verify the qualification of voters.

“No one will be denied the right to vote, and I repeat, no one will be denied the right to vote.”

But Democrats, like Senate minority leader Jeff Woodburn of Whitefield, view the bill, which is backed by Governor Chris Sununu and secretary of state Bill Gardner, something more far more noxious.

Read more: http://nhpr.org/post/voter-eligibility-bill-clears-nh-senate-along-party-lines