Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Id Standards topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Subcommittee weighs tightening photo-ID and alternative identification rules
Summary
Lawmakers and witnesses debated whether New Hampshire should narrow the kinds of identification accepted for registration and ballot access, and discussed steps to make state records and ID issuance easier for voters to use as proof.
Members of the House Election Law Subcommittee debated whether to require state-issued identification for registration and how to accommodate voters who lack driver's licenses.
The subcommittee considered proposals to prioritize government-issued photo IDs and to expand practical state assistance so legitimate voters can produce required documents without undue cost.
Nut graf: Lawmakers on both sides stressed two competing priorities: reducing opportunities for fraud by tightening identification standards, and avoiding new barriers that would prevent eligible voters from participating. Several witnesses proposed administrative changes to make documentary proof of identity easier to obtain.
What members heard: Representative C told the panel that a government-issued New Hampshire ID both establishes domicile and proves identity. Representative Newsom challenged the premise that current identification flexibility is a problem, saying "I challenge that that is in fact a problem. The identifications that we allow today require the photo signature and other requirements, and it's just not a problem, in my opinion."
University IDs and government records: Mike O'Brien, representing America Votes, and several witnesses discussed whether university student IDs should be treated as equivalent to government-issued identification. O'Brien said he would "argue that, for instance, UNH is covered under a government ID because it is a state institution and therefore is produced by something the state governs." Kate Horgan of Secure Democracy described an administrative fix: the DMV's Real ID process stores scanned documents that could be shared with the secretary of state's office to prepopulate a voter checklist column showing verified citizenship for those who opt in.
Impact on specific populations: County officials and public-health witnesses reminded the subcommittee that nursing-home residents, incarcerated pretrial detainees and homebound voters may lack standard photo IDs and rely on alternate verification or absentee procedures. Kate Horgan and county representatives urged the panel to consider exceptions or low-cost non-driver IDs and to protect existing authorizations that let nursing-home administrators or county superintendents verify identity in specific cases.
Next steps: The chair asked staff to explore statutory language that would distinguish identification standards for registration from identification standards used only to obtain a ballot, and to draft options to expand administrative access to state documents (e.g., birth certificates, name-change records) and to consider a no-cost non-driver ID option for voters who cannot otherwise obtain identification.
Ending: No votes were taken. The subcommittee requested proposed statutory language and administrative options for consideration at the follow-up meeting.
