HB 538 - AS INTRODUCED
2021 SESSION
21-0745
11/06
HOUSE BILL 538
AN ACT relative to domicile residency, voter registration, and investigation of voter
verification letters, and relative to the terms "resident," "inhabitant," "residence,"
and "residency."
SPONSORS: Rep. Horrigan, Straf. 6; Rep. Berch, Ches. 1; Rep. Cohen, Hills. 28; Rep. Frost,
Straf. 16; Rep. Kenney, Straf. 6; Rep. Read, Rock. 17; Rep. Spang, Straf. 6
COMMITTEE: Election Law
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
ANALYSIS
This bill modifies the definition of domicile for voting purposes, modifies forms and procedures
used for voter registration, and removes the requirement that the secretary of state conduct post-
election voter registration inquiries. This bill also amends the general statutory definitions of
"resident or inhabitant" and "residence or residency" to include an intent to maintain a principal
place of physical presence for the indefinite future. The bill restores language removed from the law
in 2018, 370 (HB 1264).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 HB 538 - AS INTRODUCED
21-0745
11/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT relative to domicile residency, voter registration, and investigation of voter
verification letters, and relative to the terms "resident," "inhabitant," "residence,"
and "residency."
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 Voter; Office Holder; Claim of Domicile. Amend RSA 654:1, I to read as follows:
2 I. Every inhabitant of the state, having a single established domicile for voting purposes,
3 being a citizen of the United States, of the age provided for in Article 11 of Part First of the
4 Constitution of New Hampshire, shall have a right at any meeting or election, to vote in the town,
5 ward, or unincorporated place in which he or she is domiciled. An inhabitant's domicile for voting
6 purposes is that one place where a person, more than any other place, has established a physical
7 presence and manifests an intent to maintain a single continuous presence for domestic, social, and
8 civil purposes relevant to participating in democratic self-government. A person has the right to
9 change domicile at any time, however a mere intention to change domicile in the future does not, of
10 itself, terminate an established domicile before the person actually moves. A person's claim of
11 domicile for voting purposes shall not be conclusive of the person's residence for any other
12 legal purpose.
13 2 Voters; Temporary Absence. Amend RSA 654:2 to read as follows:
14 654:2 Temporary Absence [or Presence].
15 [I.] A domicile for voting purposes acquired by any person in any town shall not be
16 interrupted or lost by a temporary absence therefrom with the intention of returning thereto as his
17 or her domicile. Domicile for the purpose of voting as defined in RSA 654:1, once existing, continues
18 to exist until another such domicile is gained. Domicile for purposes of voting is a question of fact
19 and intention [coupled with a verifiable act or acts carrying out that intent]. A voter can have only
20 one domicile for [voting] these purposes. No person shall be deemed to have lost a domicile by
21 reason of his or her presence or absence while the voter or his or her spouse is employed in the
22 service of the United States; nor while engaged in the navigation of the waters of the United States
23 or of the high seas; nor while a teacher in or student of any seminary of learning; nor while confined
24 in any public prison or other penal institution; nor while a patient or confined for any reason in any
25 nursing, convalescent home or hospital, old folks or old age home, or like institution or private
26 facility.
27 [II.(a) A person present in New Hampshire for temporary purposes shall not gain a domicile
28 for voting purposes. A person who maintains a voting domicile where he or she came from, to which
29 he or she intends to return to as his or her voting domicile after a temporary presence in New
 HB 538 - AS INTRODUCED
- Page 2 -
1 Hampshire, does not gain a domicile in New Hampshire regardless of the duration of his or her
2 presence in New Hampshire.
3 (b) A person who has been present and residing in one town or ward in New Hampshire
4 for 30 or fewer days is presumed to be present for temporary purposes unless that person has the
5 intention of making the place in which the person resides his or her one place, more than any other,
6 from which he or she engages in the domestic, social, and civil activities of participating in
7 democratic self-government including voting, and has acted to carry out that intent.
8 (c) For the purposes of this chapter, temporary purposes shall include, but are not
9 limited to, being present in New Hampshire for 30 or fewer days for the purposes of tourism, visiting
10 family or friends, performing short-term work, or volunteering or working to influence voters in an
11 upcoming election.
12 (d) For the purposes of voter registration under RSA 654:7, IV(c), an applicant shall
13 demonstrate an intent to make a place his or her domicile by providing documentation showing that
14 the applicant has a domicile at the address provided on the voter registration form. Such
15 documentation may include, but is not limited to:
16 (1) Evidence of residency, as set forth in RSA 654:1, I-a, at an institution of learning
17 in that place;
18 (2) Evidence of renting or leasing an abode at that place for a period of more than 30
19 days, to include time directly prior to an election day;
20 (3) Evidence of purchasing an abode at that place;
21 (4) A New Hampshire resident motor vehicle registration, driver's license, or
22 identification card issued under RSA 260:21, RSA 260:21-a, or RSA 260:21-b listing that place as his
23 or her residence;
24 (5) Evidence of enrolling the person's dependent minor child in a publicly funded
25 elementary or secondary school which serves the town or ward of that place, using the address where
26 the registrant resides;
27 (6) Identifying that place as the person's physical residence address on state or
28 federal tax forms, other government-issued identification, or other government forms that show the
29 domicile address;
30 (7) Evidence of providing the address of that place to the United States Post Office
31 as the person's permanent address, provided it is not a postal service or commercial post office box;
32 (8) Evidence of obtaining public utility services for an indefinite period at that place;
33 or
34 (9) Evidence of arranging for a homeless shelter or similar service provider located
35 in the town or ward to receive United States mail on behalf of the individual using that facility's
36 address as the individual's domicile address for voting purposes.
 HB 538 - AS INTRODUCED
- Page 3 -
1 (e) An applicant whose domicile is at an abode rented, leased, or owned by another and
2 whose name is not listed on the rental agreement, lease, or deed may provide a written statement
3 from a person who is listed on the rental agreement, lease, or deed, or other reasonable proof of
4 ownership or control of the property or his or her agent who manages the property that the applicant
5 resides at that address, signed by the owner or manager of the property under penalty of voting
6 fraud if false information is provided.
7 III. An individual applying for registration as a voter 30 or fewer days before an election
8 shall use the election day registration form required by RSA 654:7, IV(c) which shall require the
9 applicant to provide the date he or she established his or her voting domicile in New Hampshire.
10 The registration form shall require the voter to identify and provide evidence of a verifiable action he
11 or she has taken carrying out his or her intent to make the place claimed on the voter registration
12 form his or her domicile.
13 IV. A person may register on election day through use of an acknowledgment of domicile
14 evidence obligation on the registration form and vote if he or she does not have any document in his
15 or her possession at the polls providing evidence of an action carrying out his or her intent to make
16 the address claimed as his or her voting domicile. A person relying on an acknowledgment of
17 domicile evidence obligation to register must mail or present evidence of an action taken before
18 registering to vote to carry out his or her intent to make the address claimed his or her domicile to
19 the town or city clerk within 10 days following the election, or within 30 days in towns where the
20 clerk's office is open fewer than 20 hours weekly.
21 V. The supervisors of the checklist, as soon as practical following an election, shall
22 determine which registrants of that election acknowledged there was no evidence of intent to be
23 domiciled at their address or relied solely on an acknowledgment of domicile evidence obligation to
24 register and vote, and, of those registrants, those who failed to mail or present evidence of having
25 taken some action to carry out their intent to establish domicile at the address listed on their voter
26 registration applications to the clerk by the deadline. The supervisors shall attempt to verify that
27 each such person was domiciled at the address claimed on election day by means including, but not
28 limited to:
29 (a) Examining public records held by the town or city clerk, municipal assessing and
30 planning offices, tax collector, or other municipal office that may house public records containing
31 domicile confirmation; or
32 (b) Requesting 2 or more municipal officers or their agents or state election officers or
33 their agents to visit the address and verify that the individual was domiciled there on election day.
34 In unincorporated places that have not organized for the purposes of conducting elections, county
35 officers may be asked to perform this function; or
36 (c) Referring the registrant's information to the secretary of state, who shall cause such
37 further investigation as is warranted.
 HB 538 - AS INTRODUCED
- Page 4 -
1 VI. Any case where supervisors are unable to verify the applicant's domicile or where
2 evidence exists of voting fraud shall be promptly reported to the secretary of state and to the
3 attorney general, who shall cause such further investigation as is warranted. After receiving
4 confirmation from the secretary of state that an individual is not domiciled at the address provided,
5 the supervisors shall also initiate removal of the person from the checklist by sending the person the
6 notice required by RSA 654:44.]
7 3 General Voter Registration; Voter Registration Form. Amend RSA 654:7 to read as follows:
8 654:7 [Voter Registration;] Voter Registration Form.
9 [I. Any person registering to vote shall be:
10 (a) At least 18 years of age on the day of the next election; and
11 (b) A United States citizen; and
12 (c) Domiciled in the town or city in which the applicant is registering to vote and not
13 otherwise disqualified to vote.
14 II. The applicant shall be required to produce appropriate proof of qualifications as provided
15 in RSA 654:12 and fill out the form as prescribed in paragraph IV.]
16 [III.] I. [If an applicant is unable to provide the proof of qualifications as required in RSA
17 654:12, he or she may register by completing the necessary affidavits, pursuant to RSA 654:12, and
18 completing the form in subparagraph IV(b), unless the person is registering within 30 days before an
19 election or at the polling place on election day.] If an applicant is registering at the polling place on
20 the date of the general election [day] and is unable to provide the proof of qualifications as
21 required in RSA 654:12, he or she may register by completing the form in subparagraph [IV(c)] II(c)
22 under oath, which oath may be witnessed by an election official or any other person, working in
23 conjunction with the supervisors of the checklist, who is authorized by law to administer oaths,
24 including, but not limited to, any justice of the peace or notary public; should the applicant not
25 otherwise have proof of identity and therefore be relying upon the form for proof of identity, the act
26 of swearing to the form shall constitute sufficient proof of identity for the purposes of any person
27 administering the oath, notwithstanding any language to the contrary in any laws relating to the
28 administering of oaths for other purposes.
29 [IV.] II.(a) Standard registration application forms shall be used throughout the state. The
30 registration forms shall be no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches.
31 (b) The secretary of state shall prescribe the form of the voter registration form to be
32 used for voter registrations, transfers, or updates other than those [used within 30 days of an
33 election or] at the polling place on the date of a general election [day], which shall be in
34 substantially the following form:
35 ___ NEW REGISTRATION I am not registered to vote in New Hampshire
36 ___ TRANSFER I am registered to vote in New Hampshire and have moved my voting domicile
37 to a new town or ward in New Hampshire
 HB 538 - AS INTRODUCED
- Page 5 -
1 ___ NAME CHANGE/ADDRESS UPDATE I am registered to vote in this town/ward and have
2 changed my name/address
3 Date ____________________
4 VOTER REGISTRATION FORM
5 (Please print or type)
6 1. Name ________________________________________________________________________
7 Last (suffix) First Full Middle Name
8 2. [Domicile] Address ____________________________________________________________
9 Street Ward Number
10 ________________________________________________________________________________
11 Town or City Zip Code
12 3. Mailing Address if different than in 2 ___________________________________________
13 Street
14 ________________________________________________________________________________
15 Town or City Zip Code
16 4. Place and Date of Birth _______________________________________________________
17 Town or City State
18 Date____________________
19 5. Are you a citizen of the United States? Yes _____ No _____
20 If a naturalized citizen, give name of court where and date when naturalized
21 ________________________________________________________________________________
22 6. Place last registered to vote ____________________________________________________
23 Street Ward Number
24 [I am not currently registered to vote elsewhere (initial here __________), or I request that my name
25 be removed as a registered voter in ______________________________ (fill in your address where
26 previously registered, street, city/town, state, and zip code)]
27 7. Name under which previously registered, if different from above
28 ________________________________________________________________________________
29 8. Party Affiliation (if any) _______________________________________________________
30 9. Driver's License Number _________________________State ________________________
31 If you do not have a valid driver's license, provide the last four digits of your social security
32 number __________
33 My name is ____________________. I am today registering to vote in the city/town of
34 ____________________, New Hampshire. If a city, ward number __________.
35 I understand that to vote in this ward/town, I must be at least 18 years of age, I must be a
36 United States citizen, and I must be domiciled in this ward/town. I understand that I can claim
37 only one city/town as my domicile at a time. A domicile is that place, more than any other,
 HB 538 -