By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — The Senate’s lead negotiator on a bill to establish an election portal left little room for compromise with the House until later in the day.
A compromise was reached but a House conferee refused to agree to the change, and the Speaker of the House will decide whether to replace the conferee or let the bill die.
The House and Senate failed to reach agreement on the different versions of Senate Bill 157 requiring the audit of some voting machines in some towns and city wards used in the 2024 elections.
The negotiations broke down over whether the bill should say six towns or city wards or specifically say some devices in those cities or towns.
The contents of the bill will be introduced next year Sen. James Gray, R-Rochester, told the House who said they could not agree to adding the election devices because it was not in either version of the bill.
SB 70 would establish an electronic portal by Jan. 1 to allow someone to register to vote, or to change addresses or request an absentee ballot or change party affiliation and would be expected to reduce lines on election day.
The House changed Senate Bill 70 by adding a grant program that would allow the use of Help America Vote Act money to help cities and towns purchase new voting machines.
The Secretary of State and Ballot Law Commission must approve any voting machines used by cities and towns and a demonstration by four voting machine vendors is scheduled for Aug 2.
Currently New Hampshire only approves Accuvote machines and many are 30 years old and at the end of their useful cycle.
But Sen. Gray said he does not believe the Secretary of State should establish a grant program that would allow the money to be used for new voting machines, electronic poll books, or secure laptops to access ElectioNet.
Gray said the cities and towns should pay for the new machines if they want to replace the ones they have.
But the House’s lead negotiator, Rep. Ross Berry, R-Manchester, argued the money is to help America vote and that is what the grant program would do, make it easier for people to vote.
“These machines are in deplorable condition and some are being cannibalized to keep others going,” Berry said. “This is a perfectly good reason to tap into the fund to help people vote.”
He said the new machines will help reduce what he considers to be one of the biggest evils, long lines to vote.
People coming off an eight- or nine-hour shift and seeing lines coming out of the polling place door will decide not to vote and go home, Berry said.
Gray said he has been an election moderator for about 30 years and the long lines result from people registering to vote on election day not waiting for a ballot.
And he reiterated he sees no reason for the state to pay for the machines for cities and towns and accused the House of adding a poison pill to the bill.
He asked Secretary of State David Scanlan why he opposes using the HAVA funds for the new machines.
Scanlan said the state has used the HAVA funds over the years to pay for requirements of the federal law as well as training, voter education, to maintain the voter database and specialized machines for the blind or disabled.
“This is not a static fund,” he said, noting the legislature intended the fund to last as long as possible so as not to draw on general funds, “and the best way to change that is to spend down that fund on a special project like this.”
Other House members of the conference committee expressed their support for the House version saying it will help make elections more efficient and secure and be more efficient than having to pay to replace and fix the old machines.
Rep. Connie Lane, D-Concord, said when Scanlan was before the House committee he said there is some excess money available, noting the intent of the bill is to use that excess money.
Scanlan said the federal government has given New Hampshire and other states additional money for cybersecurity and for additional expenses due to the pandemic, and that has provided some additional money.
The Senate did not have a united front as Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, D-Portsmouth, said she agrees with the House version of the bill.
She asked for some time to see if there is a potential for compromise using the excess funds Scanlan talked about, and the committee adjourned.
When the committee returned an amendment deleted a section of the bill on establishing the grant program, but Deputy Speaker Steve Smith, R-Charlestown, who replaced Berry, refused to go along, while the rest of the conferees did.
The bill’s fate is now up to the Speaker if he wants to replace Smith with someone who will go along with the compromise or let the bill die without an agreement.
SB 157
The House and Senate agreed to a compromise of six towns or city wards that would be selected for audits after the primary and general election after a presidential primary.
The Senate had four towns or wards, while the House version had eight.
An amendment proposed by Gray had the compromise six towns or wards but added a provision that indicated the audit would be of selected counting devices and not necessarily all in any town or city ward.
He said that was the intention of the original audit legislation passed several years ago and the Secretary of State wanted it included in the bill so not all voting machines in a large town or city ward would need to be audited.
But Berry said it was his understanding that nothing new could be added during the committee of conference if it was not in one version of the bill or the other.
After a short recess, Gray said the voting device had to be in the bill, and Berry said he had checked with the House clerk and the rules are it had to be in one bill or the other.
Gray said the Senate would introduce the bill again next session, and Berry said the House would look forward to that and the bill was effectively killed for this session.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.