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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 still can't touch the ballots, but we can do our job as moderator to make sure the election is run properly and fairly by being within the area where all the workers are," Harb said.
Kevin Major, a long'time town moderator who testified alongside Harb, described the job as complex and argued moderators need to supervise volunteers and end'of'night reconciliation without handling ballots. He told senators moderators require training and frequently perform duties that overlap with clerks and ballot clerks but that the amendment preserves the ban on touching or tabulating ballots.
Brendan O'Donnell, Deputy Secretary of State, told the committee the Secretary of State's office supports the bill because it "maintains the prohibition on counting votes [and] touching marked ballots" while striking a balance between moderator oversight and the integrity of counting. O'Donnell recommended clarifying statutory language where needed but voiced no objection to the bill as explained.
Committee members offered a technical amendment replacing the bill's effective-date language with "upon passage" so the change would apply immediately for the upcoming filing period. The committee adopted the amendment and voted to advance the bill on consent.
What happens next: The committee recorded the committee amendment and advanced the bill for further consideration. The committee voice votes reported in the hearing transcript were not recorded as roll-call tallies in the public hearing record.
Why it matters: Town moderators are the constitutionally authorized election officers who oversee many on-site procedures at polling places. The bill aims to reconcile statutory restrictions with the practical need for moderators to supervise end'of'night processes without participating in ballot handling.
