DRC-NH Urges Governor Ayotte to VETO Unlawful Voting Bill
July 2, 2025
Via U.S. and Electronic Mail (GOVERNORAYOTTE@GOVERNOR.NH.GOV)
Governor Kelly Ayotte
State House
107 N. Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
Re: HB 613, relative to the use of accessible voting systems
Dear Governor Ayotte:
I am writing on behalf of the Disability Rights Center- NH (DRC-NH), the State’s designated Protection and Advocacy System for people with disabilities, to urge you to veto HB 613 which clearly and unlawfully undermines the voting rights of individuals with disabilities. If signed into law, HB 613 would deprive voters who cannot complete paper ballots of the right to register and vote privately and independently as is enjoyed by voters without disabilities.
Accessible Voting in New Hampshire and HB 67
Last Session the legislature passed, and Governor signed into law, HB 1264, a bill which codifies accessible voting requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), to ensure that New Hampshire’s voters with print disabilities, including blind and visually impaired voters, are able to cast their ballots privately, independently and securely in all elections, not just statewide and federal elections. Prior to passage of HB 1264, most polling locations in New Hampshire did not provide Accessible Voting Systems (AVS) for local elections and, therefore, were not accessible to voters with print disabilities. To support municipalities’ compliance with the requirement that AVS be provided for local elections, HB 1264 included a pilot program under which the Secretary of State’s office would provide state-owned AVS to the municipalities for their use in local elections during the spring of 2025.
HB 67 represents a bi-partisan effort to ensure that people with disabilities are able to vote privately and independently in all elections by providing continued support for municipalities’ compliance with accessible voting requirements for local elections. HB 67, if signed into law, makes the Secretary of State’s office’s obligation to provide municipalities with the state-owned AVS for local elections permanent. Rather than needing to purchase separate AVS for their local elections, municipalities would be able to use the state-owned AVS – systems which are secure and which election officials are already trained to use.
HB 67, as passed by both bodies, ensures that AVS systems are available at all polling locations for local elections. These systems are essential to ensure that voters with disabilities, particularly those who are blind or who have physical disabilities that make it difficult or impossible for them to mark a paper ballot by hand, are able to vote privately and independently. HB 67 was unanimously recommended for passage by their respective House and Senate committees and passed on voice votes by the full House and Senate.[1]
HB 613 Promotes Unlawful Discrimination
Despite broad bi-partisan support for HB 67, late into its June 5, 2025, session, the Senate passed a replace-all amendment to HB 613, a previously tabled bill unrelated to accessible voting, which is diametrically opposed to current law requiring AVS for local elections. It is also contrary to the purpose and intent of HB 67. HB 613, as amended by the Senate, and later passed by the House, will potentially strip disabled voters of their fundamental voting rights. It was introduced and passed without any public notice or opportunity for members of the public potentially impacted by its passage, to provide public testimony.
HB 613 is discriminatory and fundamentally at odds with long-standing legal protections for voters with disabilities. If passed, HB 613 would permit municipalities to administer elections that would be in direct conflict with the voting rights of individuals with disabilities guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Part I, Article 11 of New Hampshire’s Constitution. It would also violate the right to equal protection rights of persons with print disabilities, guaranteed by the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution as this group of people would be denied the right to register and vote on the same day – a right afforded to every other qualified New Hampshire voter.
Unlawful Notice requirement
HB 613 would allow municipalities to opt out of providing Accessible Voting Systems during local elections unless a voter provides written notice of their intent to use the system at least 60 days in advance of an election.
No other voter is required to notify their town’s clerk if, and how, they intend to vote at any point prior to election day. New Hampshire voters are permitted to register and vote at the polls on election day. Failure to provide voters who are blind, visually impaired or have other print disabilities with equal access to same day voter registration and the ability to vote privately and independently is blatantly discriminatory.
Moreover, many voters who rely on the Accessible Voting System do so because they are unable to complete a written ballot due to a disability. Therefore, requiring written prior notice is nonsensical.
Public notification requirement
HB 613 would permit municipalities to ‘notify’ the public that they, the voters, have to make a written request in order to use the Accessible Voting System. A municipality would meet this public notification requirement by posting a notice on its website and one other public location. This method of notification is insufficient and not designed to provide actual notice to the individuals who would be negatively impacted by a municipality’s decision to “opt out” of their legal obligation to ensure an AVS is at each polling location.
Many voters who rely on the AVS, particularly those who are blind or visually impaired, may not be able to access or read a public notice, unless it’s provided in an accessible format. How will voters even know how or where to look for this notice? Will the municipality’s website be accessible to screen readers? In our experience, many public websites do not meet basic accessibility standards, rendering them unusable for individuals who rely on screen readers or other assistive technology.
Segregation and Intimidation
HB 613 shifts the responsibility for requesting the state-owned Accessible Voting System from municipalities to individual disabled voters—despite municipalities being legally responsible for running local elections including the programming of the AVS. See RSA 669:25.
This places an additional burden on voters with disabilities and risks exposing them to intimidation and pushback from local officials, or harassment from other residents, particularly in smaller towns where opposition to HB 67 has been most vocal. Forcing a voter to advocate for the ability to vote privately in the face of reluctance or resistance from their own town clerk or neighbors will have a chilling effect on voters who are already marginalized. In this and other ways, HB 613 echoes a dark history of voter suppression targeting people with disabilities.
No one should have to fight to access their fundamental right to vote, especially when the tools to ensure legal access are readily available.
The Cost of Accessible Voting is Minimal
Long-standing state law requires municipalities to cover the cost of their local elections. RSA 669:25. However, if HB 67 is signed into law municipalities will NOT be required to purchase the AVS hardware—the State already owns these systems. Under HB 67, the Secretary of State would provide them for the municipalities’ use, just as it does for federal elections. Municipalities will be required to cover the cost of programming the AVS in each polling location in accordance with RSA 669:25. For most towns throughout the state, the cost to program the AVS for a local election ballot is approximately $600.
Even in municipalities that have multiple ballot formats—such as separate ballots for school district and municipal elections—the total cost would rarely exceed $1,200. These programming costs pale in comparison to the potential liability a town would face should a disabled voter be deprived of their right to vote privately and independently due to the town’s failure to ensure it has an AVS available in local elections.
New Hampshire Must Not Pass Legislation that Sanctions Unlawful Discrimination.
The U.S. and New Hampshire Constitutions, federal and state laws guarantee equal protection under the law and equal access to voter registration and voting for all individuals, regardless of disability. HB 613 is discriminatory, stands in clear violation of these legal protections, and undermines the fundamental rights of voters with disabilities.
For all the above reasons, DRC-NH respectfully requests that you veto HB 613.
I would welcome any opportunity to meet with your office to discuss these concerns further and to answer any questions that you may have. I can be reached via email (jamesz@drcnh.org) or telephone. My direct line is 603-410-5206.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Sincerely,
James Ziegra
Senior Staff Attorney
cc: Myles Brand Matteson, Legal Counsel via email only (myles.b.matteson@governor.nh.gov)
James Gerry, Director of Policy and Finance via email only (james.p.gerry@nh.gov)
Alex Holderith, Assistant Director of Policy and Finance (alexander.r.holderith@governor.nh.gov)
[1] The Senate passed a small, clarifying amendment to HB 67 which did not change the underlying purpose or effect of this bill.
Download PDF of Letter to Governor Ayotte
