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Committee reviews bills to bar candidates from handling ballots and to require second witness for write‑ins
Summary
Two bills aimed at reducing perceived conflicts in ballot handling — one barring candidates from pre‑election handling of ballots and another requiring a second sworn official when counting write‑ins — cleared committee hearings and were advanced by the Senate committee.
Two related measures addressing handling and counting of ballots drew unanimous or near‑unanimous committee support in the public hearing portion and were later advanced by the committee.
House Bill 464 would prohibit candidates for political office from participating in the pre‑election handling or inventory count of ballots except for constitutionally protected officers and specified election officers (moderator, clerk, select board members, inspector of elections and supervisors of the checklist). Representative Ross Payer (prime sponsor) told the committee the change is intended to remove perception issues and any opportunity for allegation when candidates who are themselves on the ballot touch ballots before an election. He said the committee amended the bill to exempt constitutionally protected officers who must handle ballots in the course of their duties.
Representative Erica Jabries, another sponsor, said the bill was intended to build voter confidence by removing images or situations in which candidates might be shown touching ballots and that the bill had an 18‑0 vote in the House Election Law Committee and passed the House on consent.
House Bill 474 would require that when write‑in votes are counted, the counting be done in the presence of a second sworn election official. Representative Ross Berry, who introduced that bill, said the requirement codifies longstanding practices and reflects changes in new voting equipment where write‑in activity is tracked through electronic images that can be reviewed. Senators discussed differences between legacy and modern scanning/image systems and emphasized that paper ballots remain the ground truth in recounts.
Committee discussion addressed a technical point raised by some senators about whether appointed inspectors of election (who may be partisan appointees) should be included among those eligible to touch ballots when they are candidates; at least two senators urged removing inspectors of election from the exempt list for HB‑464 to avoid appearance problems. Several senators said towns must already provide multiple election officers and that moderators and clerks should be able to carry out required duties.
Both bills received favorable committee action: HB‑474 (second‑witness for write‑ins) was reported out of committee as ought to pass (with amendment to clarify procedure) and moved on the consent calendar; HB‑464 (prohibiting candidates from handling ballots) was also advanced by the committee with discussion about removing inspectors of election from the exempt list in future drafting.
