Sununu Signs Bill To Provide Voting Law Information To New Hampshire Students
Voting rights advocates have noted that only 15 percent of 18-year-olds in the state were registered to vote in the 2022 midterm elections.
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New Hampshire public and private high schools will soon be required to give voting information to students, under a law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu this month.
requires that civics instruction 鈥渋nclude information on the laws governing election and voting鈥� in New Hampshire. That information would supplement what is to be taught in schools for history and civics, including the structures of the New Hampshire Constitution and U.S. Constitution, and the role and function of government.
Currently, the State Board of Education to distribute copies of the state constitution and state voting laws to middle schools and high schools for civics instruction. But HB 1014 would directly mandate that schools use that information to bolster 鈥渢he role, opportunities, and responsibilities of a citizen to engage in civic activity.鈥�
The bill comes as part of an effort by some to increase participation in elections among young people. Voting rights advocates have noted that only 15 percent of 18-year-olds in the state were registered to vote in the 2022 midterm elections.
Rep. Mark Paige, an Exeter Democrat, noted that students with disabilities who have individualized education plans already receive information about registering to vote.
鈥淭his then just expands that to every student in the state,鈥� he said in a May 7 Senate hearing.
But some voting advocates have criticized the bill for not going far enough in requiring that high school students be directly taught how to register to vote. Originally, the bill required high schools to 鈥渁dopt policies to promote student voter registration鈥�; the House amended that to mandate that students are instructed in the laws instead.
In an unrelated section added by the Senate, the bill requires that any public school district, town, or city use the official name for state holidays 鈥� effectively barring those entities from calling 鈥淐olumbus Day鈥� 鈥淚ndigenous Peoples鈥� Day.鈥� The bill takes effect Sept. 12.
HB 1014 was one of a handful of voting-related bills signed by Sununu July 12. The governor also signed , which allows town clerks, assistant clerks, and clerks pro tem to deliver absentee ballots to nursing homes and other elder care facilities.
And Sununu signed , which requires that town and city election officials allow the public to observe the use of any voting tabulators as they are used on election night, and directs those officials to post the printout of the machine鈥檚 tabulated results within 60 minutes of running the machines.
is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Hampshire Bulletin maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Dana Wormald for questions: [email protected]. Follow New Hampshire Bulletin on and .
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