Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Senate committee advances bill to let moderators remain inside guarded counting area while preserving ballot-handling prohibitions
Summary
The Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee voted to advance House Bill 1266, which would let moderators stay inside the guarded election area to oversee end-of-night procedures even when they are a candidate for an office other than moderator, while preserving prohibitions on touching or counting ballots.
The Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee voted to advance House Bill 1266 after a public hearing in which town moderators and the Deputy Secretary of State testified in support.
Representative Robert Harb, the bill's prime sponsor, told the committee the change addresses a practical conflict under the existing statute (identified in testimony as RSA 65958). He said moderators currently may be inside the guarded election area if they are running for the moderator position but must remain outside if they are on the ballot for another office. "We still can't count the ballots. We…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
