HB172

Voting is our right, our responsibility, and our duty. I do not support any law that restricts the ability of the public to participate in the selection of their elected representatives.

This bill will take away my rights as an independent voter to make up my mind close to an election. I do not have months to research and select how I want to vote on issues or on candidates. I feel this rule is forcing me to be a republican or a democrat. Why are we trying to regulate voters like this? The America that I know is about choice and freedom. Scary Bill that would be an even scarier law. What are you thinking??

By restricting undeclared voters from registering with a party on the same day of a primary in order to vote in a presidential or state primary election you are creating a situation where many independent voters are not allowed to vote. It is untenable that a legal NH voter not be allowed to vote because they choose to be independent and want to keep their minds and options open to decide according to their interests and values what party's candidate they wish to vote for. To require an independent/undeclared voter to make the change ahead of time creates an unnecessary hardship. I am an undeclared voter because I want the freedom to pick the best person to represent me regardless of party, without having to remember to take another step ahead of time or risk by opportunity to vote.

Shame on the sponsors of this bill which seeks to disenfranchise the largest block of voters in NH. I strongly oppose this bill.

The founders of our constitution warned about factions. This bill is trying to further impose factions on us by forcing us to go out of our way to affiliate with either democrats or republicans. In case you haven't seen the polls this year, just know the general public is pissed off at both parties and many of us would rather vote in our own best interests instead of appearing to conform to the party line.

Stop voter suppression!

I oppose this bill.

My name is Andrew Harmon, and I am vehemently opposed to this bill. I have registered as Undeclared for years as it allows me the freedom to vote for the person best qualified to fill a political position, regardless of their party. This bill would strip me of this ability, and force me to continue to vote a specific party regardless of my personal affiliations or opinions. Please vote inexpedient to legislate.

I am a Supervisor of the Checklist in the town of Wolfeboro

Frankly, this bill is about as anti-NH as you can get, and it flies in the face of NH’s tradition of independent spirit. Undeclared voters, which make up the majority in NH, are an embodiment of that spirit. Our first in the nation status is impart because we are small and value independence. You don’t have to be the party darling or the candidate put forward by power and money from outside the state. Every candidate, every voter should continue to be heard in NH. This bill is meant to shift power away from all NH citizens and into the hands of political parties and a limited number of controlled voters. It’s sole purpose is to silence the majority of NH voters. Defend NH’s voter independence.

Once again, I oppose any bill that works to restrict people's ability to vote whether in an election or a primary. We should be making it easier to vote, not harder. There is NO good reason to keep non-affiliated voters from voicing their preference in a primary. I have done it ALL MY VOTING LIFE up until the point where I became an affiliated voter in 2016. MAKE IT EASIER TO VOTE, NOT HARDER.

Approximately 50% of NH voters are _not_ aligned with a political party. Every "independent" will be disenfranchised from primary elections if they cannot choose a party's ballot on election day because they cannot legitimately ask for an absentee ballot ahead of time - choosing a party is not a legal reason for using an absentee ballot. If independent voters are disenfranchised then the primaries become elections that only party members can participate in and, therefore, the substantial cost of holding the primaries should be borne by the parties, not the taxpayers.

No one should be denied the right to vote in a presidential or state primary.

I oppose this legislation. I was a registered Republican all my life until 2016. You can imagine what made me change my designation to unaffiliated. I consider this legislation to be disenfranchising to me as a registered unaffiliated voter. Any time you try to limit the number and kind of people who can vote, the likely reason is that if you let everyone vote, they wouldn't vote for you or your candidates. Try coming up with better policies that more people can agree on rather than trying to shut out voters who might not endorse your views.

I oppose this bill because a citizen has every right to pick a party affiliation, whether 6 months before a vote, within a few days of the vote, or even on the day of the vote.

I am an undeclared voter in NH. For the Republican party to seek to restrict the ability of undeclared voters from same-day voting in a presidential or state primary seems blatantly discriminatory. I believe the state should make it as easy as possible for citizens to vote.

Illegally preventing undeclared voters from selecting a ballot on election day for state or national elections.

This law will only perpetuate the election of more and more radical candidates. Allowing moderate independents to participate in the nominating process of either party is good for democracy, society, and our country.

I oppose this bell. No registered voter, whether Republican, Democrat, or undeclared, should not be. Restricted from same-day voting. Undeclared voters should not be penalized because they are not affiliated with the Democrat Democrats or Republicans.

40% of NH voters register as Undeclared. DO NOT TAKE AWAY OUR VOTING RIGHTS.

40% of NH voters register as Undeclared. DO NOT TAKE AWAY OUR VOTING RIGHTS.

Enough. Next are we going to deny election results like NC in their Supreme Court case? Ridiculous. Grow up, if you can't win an election fairly, go home.

New Hampshire does not allow residents to register as Independent so if you do not want to register as either a Republican or as a Democrat you run the risk of being turned away from a presidential or state primary election if you are unaware of this new law. It would require people to make an extra trip to their town hall prior to the election if they want their voice heard. It strikes me that this is simply a way to limit people's right to vote. If you want to avoid complications to the voting process then, perhaps, you should consider a bill to allow people to register as an Independent.

Please don't discourage voting.