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Senator proposes official tracking of voters turned away for documentation; secretary of state urges caution
Summary
Senate hearing on SB 437 focused on adding an official return-line to count voters denied registration for lack of documentation. Clerks and advocates supported measurement; Secretary of State David Scanlon warned the official returns are the wrong vehicle and said the data may be nebulous.
Senator Rebecca Perkins Quoca introduced SB 437 to the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee, proposing that official election returns include a field to record the number of prospective voters denied registration for lack of required documentation. "We want to make sure that we have information to make sound decisions around our voting rights," Perkins Quoca said.
Supporters at the hearing said objective tracking is needed to evaluate the real-world effects of recent registration rule changes. Dan Healy, Nashua city clerk, described a local pilot to collect turnaway data and recommended simple reconciliation…
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