Linda Terwilliger: SB 418 is anti-voter legislation that threatens undermines privacy

To The Daily Sun,

I’m a Granite State resident and voter.

We should all be very worried about SB 418, which restricts the voting and privacy rights for a huge number of voters by making same day registration way too complicated and burdensome.

This bill threatens to disqualify the votes of thousands of eligible voters, risks disenfranchising overseas military voters and undermines the secret ballot.

Proponents claim the rationale behind the bill is voter fraud. However, Secretary of State David Scanlan said that the New Hampshire elections are sound and the local election officials do a tremendous job.

During one hearing, a representative of the American Civil Liberties Union NH said the following: This legislation could violate the constitution in three ways. The goal (of SB 418) is to impose new and unnecessary burdens on voters. The same problems that existed with SB 3, (which was struck down by the Supreme Court as an undue burden on the right to vote), exist with this bill as well. The state paid in excess of 4 million dollars in legal fees. It risks upending our electoral system by injecting confusion, delay, erroneous disenfranchisement and cost.

Of particular concern to me is that if SB 418 is passed, any person with a politically motivated grudge can overturn the moderator’s authority to verify the identity of a voter, blocking that person’s right to use a regular ballot.

SB 418 is anti-voter legislation for lots of reasons. Tell your NH representative to vote “no” on SB 418.

Linda Terwilliger

Gilford