Voting By Absentee Just Got More Difficult
- Amplify NH
- Aug 4
- 3 min read
Late last week, Kelly Ayotte signed SB 287 into law, proving once again that she values her party’s political power over the rights of vulnerable Granite Staters, specifically seniors, members of the military, people living with disabilities, parents, and working Granite Staters.
This bill, once enacted, will add major hurdles to absentee voting. Let’s take a look at what this means for Granite State voters:
Ayotte Signs Bill into Law that Will Make it Harder for Vulnerable Granite Staters to Absentee Vote
Once it takes effect 60 days after its signing into law, SB 287 will severely limit the ability of certain groups of Granite Staters, including seniors, voters with disabilities, parents, and working Granite Staters, to participate in our elections.
“With her signature, Governor Ayotte just chose to make it harder for thousands of Granite Staters, especially our most vulnerable, to vote, all without solving a single real problem,” said McKenzie Taylor, Director for the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights.” “SB287 will confuse voters, burden local election officials, and strip people of their freedom to vote securely from home when they cannot make it to the polls. Granite Staters deserve better than political games that attack our rights and weaken our democracy.”
As election officials in communities across the state grapple with how to implement these new requirements, we must remember that New Hampshire already had a secure absentee voting process. Under previous absentee voting requirements in New Hampshire, voting by absentee was only available to those with a valid excuse and every voter who voted by absentee ballot was required to sign a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury, a serious legal commitment.
But SB 287 will impose new hurdles on the absentee voting process. It does this by requiring voters who are requesting absentee ballots show proof of identity via:
A copy of the voters’ ID with the absentee application
A notarized signature on the absentee ballot application
Presenting an ID in person to the town or city clerk or their designee before being provided an absentee ballot
Nearly 100,000 voters cast absentee ballots in the 2024 election and under this legislation, these votes would be put at risk and create more unnecessary paperwork and confusion for voters and election officials. Absentee voting worked well in New Hampshire; now voters will just be met with more red tape and confusion when trying to cast their ballots.
Ayotte Ignores Granite Staters’ Plea to Veto
By signing a bill like this, Ayotte, as well as other Republicans in the State House that ensured its passage through the New Hampshire legislature, have demonstrated yet again that they are more focused on finding solutions to imaginary problems by putting tens of thousands of Granite State voters at risk of not being able to cast a ballot, rather than solving any real problems.
As an attempt to appeal to Ayotte to veto this bill, dozens of Granite Staters sent Ayotte their stories as to why they use absentee ballots and how the signing SB287 will affect them.
Additionally, voting rights activists across the state sent a letter to Ayotte to advocate against this bill.
“SB287 is not simply an absentee voting policy, it is a change that, if signed into law by the governor, will have a very real and detrimental impact on absentee voting,” said McKenzie Taylor. “The collection of stories from Granite State voters that the Governor received shows the harmful effects that this law would have.”
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Thank you,
Ryan Mahoney
Executive Director