HB344

This was well done during COVID and made the process much easier!

Allowing absentee ballots to be counted prior to the close of voting will ease some of the burden on our election officials. This bill makes common sense.

This legislation would give voters the opportunity to cure their absentee ballots if needed, due to missing signatures or missing other required steps. This will also improve the processing of absentee ballots on Election Day.

It’s must more efficient to process any received absentee ballots before Election Day. Speeds up the process on Election Day if they can get ahead of the legal absentee ballots received earlier.

Please make it easier for NH citizens to vote!

I support this bill, HB 344. In 2020, election officials were able to open and begin processing absentee ballots before election day. It was found to save time and ensure that all ballots were counted.

This is a worthy effort to keep voting accessible and streamline the counting process!

As I watched the absentee ballots be brought into the election sight last year during the middle of the day to be counted, I could not help but think this process just added to the tension already in the polling place for the poll workers. It makes so much more sense to have a quiet, peaceful surrounding prior to the election, or after the polls close for the workers to spread out with the absentee ballots and count without a crowd watching.

As an Elections Volunteer, I can attest that the process would be smoothed if we could begin to process absentee ballots BEFORE Election Day begins.

Thank you for taking my comments! I would like to voice my support for HB 344. This bill would help reduce the time necessary on election day for processing absentee ballots. Since the requirement that the opening of outer envelopes is properly noticed and open to the public this seems like a reasonable step to improve operations on election day. Please vote this bill UP! Thank you Rodney Phillips Moderator, Town of Loudon

Election day is very busy. Allowing workers to open absentee ballot envelopes in advance, and pre-process them to identify any defects will have at least two benefits. First, it will give them one less task to do on election day, so they can focus on things that cannot be done in advance. As a volunteer poll observer, I saw them working hard all day to do a multitude of tasks, and doing it with grace and good humor (even when voters were cranky). Let's help them out as much as we can! Second, it will give voters who made a mistake on their absentee ballot to have time to correct it. If the mistake is found on election day, the voter who was not able to come to the polling place to vote is highly unlikely to be able to come to rectify their error. We want everyone who is eligible to be able to vote. Someone who takes the time to request and complete an absentee ballot should not be punished or have it be harder for their vote to count than it is for people who vote in person, with the benefit of the helpful staff to get them through any challenges.

Allows the process to work more efficiently

I support this bill which allows moderators or their designee to open absentee ballot outer envelopes within a week before election day, with public notice of the time and place. This was allowed in 2020 during the pandemic and election officials found it helped save time and supported voters in ensuring their ballots counted.

This is very helpful legislation, especially for elections that produce record turn-outs (like the November 2024 general election). Processing absentee ballots, to be sure they are properly accounted for, secured, and verified, takes a lot of time--allowing at least part of that process to be done ahead will be a helpful tool to improve flow and service to the public (and timeliness of election results) on election day.

I support this bill.

I support this bill as being beneficial to all Americans

Currently, election officials open and process absentee ballots on election day at the polls, meaning it is difficult or impossible for voters to cure their ballots in the event they missed a signature or other required steps. Public pre-processing sessions allow for greater transparency and the ability for voters to cure their ballots if they made a mistake. Processing absentee ballots on election day can also be a time consuming process for election officials and lead to later results if the process cannot be completed before polls close. Towns were able to pre-process their absentee ballots in 2020 during the pandemic and election officials found it to be a helpful process that helped save time and supported voters in ensuring their ballots counted.

Please support to ultimately make voting easier, not more difficult!! Thanks!

Currently, election officials open and process absentee ballots on election day at the polls, meaning it is difficult or impossible for voters to cure their ballots in the event they missed a signature or other required steps. Public pre-processing sessions allow for greater transparency and the ability for voters to cure their ballots if they made a mistake. Processing absentee ballots on election day can also be a time consuming process for election officials and lead to later results if the process cannot be completed before polls close. Towns were able to pre-process their absentee ballots in 2020 during the pandemic and election officials found it to be a helpful process that helped save time and supported voters in ensuring their ballots counted.

Absentee voting is essential to a free and fair election. Its processing, however is time consuming. Voters, states and the country want fast results and processing absentee ballots can hold up that process. This bill would allow election officials more time to process and does not open the ballot envelope, only the outside envelope, allowing critical Election Day processing to occur faster and without errors due to rushing and interrupting the ballot clerks and voters checking in. I fully support this bill.

I am in support of absentee ballot pre-processing.