Opinion

Letter to the Editor: If it ain’t broke

We’re all proud of our “First in the Nation” primary election. But the outcome of our celebrated primary may be put in doubt, if SB 418 is made law.

When asked if the results of our “FITN” primary might only be provisional, bill author Sen. Guida answered “that’s a possibility.”

Remember the mess when results of the Iowa caucus were in doubt? We don’t want to jeopardize our First in the Nation status.

How could this happen?

About 20 percent of the people casting their vote in New Hampshire elections are “same day” registrants. According to SB 418 all same day registrants would be given a provisional ballot, an affidavit verification page, and “a prepaid Federal Express envelope addressed to the Secretary of the State for the affidavit voter to return the affidavit verification page. . . and missing documentation to the secretary of state.”

All this back-and-forth of affidavits to Concord could delay election results by two weeks. Maintaining FITN status entails clearly naming a winner within 10 days of an election. Most same-day registrants have all their documentation. What would they need to furnish and mail to Concord? Since these provisional ballots have tracking numbers, election privacy is uncertain, especially in small towns where one or two votes make the difference.

Please let the governor, your senator and representatives know that SB 418 will lengthen the lines at the polls, insult the integrity of 20 percent of our voters, and threaten First in the Nation status.

Susan Richman

Durham

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