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Senate committee hears competing views on annual voter-roll verification; no vote taken
Summary
Rep. Robert Wherry proposed annual verification of voter rolls citing local mobility and found nearly 1,000 ineligible registrations in one town; opponents including municipal officials and Rep. Connie Lane cited cost and workload and suggested a four-year cycle or ERIC participation; no final committee vote was recorded.
Representative Robert Wherry introduced House Bill 274, proposing annual verification of voter rolls. Wherry said his review and discussions with supervisors of the checklist in Hudson found nearly 1,000 people no longer eligible on the rolls since the 2021 purge and argued that high mobility in parts of the state supports more frequent verification and that costs could be spread annually.
Representative Connie Lane and the New Hampshire Municipal Association opposed the measure at the committee hearing, telling senators annual verification would be burdensome for clerks and volunteer supervisors in small towns. Lane recommended a four-year cycle with a two‑presidential-election look-back or joining ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center) as lower-cost alternatives; NHMA representatives said many clerks already monitor rolls against postal and death records and that an annual mandated purge would add time and expense.
Representative Ross Berry, speaking for proponents, said the Secretary of State’s new system can generate verification lists and that annual checks would reduce the large purge events that otherwise occur every decade; he argued postage and per‑mail costs would be distributed and potentially lowered by running the process annually.
Senators asked about workload, costs and practical alternatives; no committee vote on HB 274 was recorded at this session. The committee asked staff and stakeholders to continue to evaluate timing options and potential technical solutions to assist municipal clerks.
