HB 722 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
7june01...1328h
2001 SESSION
08/01
HOUSE BILL 722
AN ACT relative to town, village district, and school district elections.
This bill provides that a person whose name was not printed on the ballot for a town, village district, or school district election shall not be entitled to any elective office unless the person received 10 write-in votes or write-in votes equaling 10 percent or more of the total votes cast for that office, whichever is the smaller, but in no event less than 5 write-in votes. If a person is disqualified from a nomination for failure to receive the required minimum votes, the nomination shall be awarded to a qualified person chosen by the selectmen or other appropriate town officials, in the same manner as vacancies occurring during a term of town office are filled.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
7june01...1328h
01-0527
08/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One
AN ACT relative to town, village district, and school district elections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Town Elections; Number of Write-In Votes Required. Amend RSA 669 by inserting after section 14 the following new section:
669:14-a Number of Write-In Votes Required.
I. In towns which have adopted an official ballot system, a person whose name was not printed on the ballot as a candidate for a specific office shall not be elected to that office unless the person received 10 write-in votes or write-in votes equaling 10 percent or more of the total votes cast for that office, whichever is the smaller, but in no event less than 5 write-in votes.
II. If no person is elected to an office as a result of the restrictions in paragraph I, the office shall be filled in the same manner as vacancies occurring during the term of that office.
2 New Section; Village District Elections; Number of Write-In Votes Required. Amend RSA 670 by inserting after section 12 the following new section:
670:8-a Number of Write-In Votes Required.
I. In village districts which have adopted an official ballot system, a person whose name was not printed on the ballot as a candidate for a specific office shall not be elected to that office unless the person received 10 write-in votes or write-in votes equaling 10 percent or more of the total votes cast for that office, whichever is the smaller, but in no event less than 5 write-in votes.
II. If no person is elected to an office as a result of the restrictions in paragraph I, the office shall be filled in the same manner as vacancies occurring during the term of that office.
3 New Section; School District Elections; Number of Write-In Votes Required. Amend RSA 671 by inserting after section 26-a the following new section:
671:26-b Number of Write-In Votes Required.
I. A person whose name was not printed on the ballot as a candidate for a specific office shall not be elected to that office unless the person received 10 write-in votes or write-in votes equaling 10 percent or more of the total votes cast for that office, whichever is the smaller, but in no event less than 5 write-in votes.
II. If no person is elected to an office as a result of the restrictions in paragraph I, the office shall be filled in the same manner as vacancies occurring during the term of that office.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.