An OpEd by Rep. David E. Cote in The Keene Sentinel describes a disturbing situation for New Hampshire voters who do not have photo IDs.
Cote (D-Nashua), who is the ranking Democrat and former chairman of the N.H. House Election Law Committee, explains:
Under a provision of New Hampshire’s photo ID law scheduled to take effect later this year, voters who show up to the polls without an approved photo ID are required to have their picture taken by an election official.
In an attempt to satisfy privacy and equal protection concerns for voters, the law enacted in 2012 contained specific requirements on how the picture-taking provision would be implemented. The election moderator or designee is required to take a photograph of the voter, “immediately” print and attach it to the voter’s affidavit form, and then delete the photograph from the camera in the presence of the voter.
To satisfy article 28-A of the N.H. Constitution, which requires new mandates on political subdivisions to be fully funded by the state, the secretary of state is required to provide each city and town with photography equipment and printing devices, along with instructions for their use in carrying out the picture-taking operation. The cost to equip each polling place with the necessary cameras and printers is estimated to be about $137,000 statewide.
When putting together their state budget proposal for this term, the Republican majority decided they didn’t want to pay for the equipment.
And once again, it seems, legislators’ ignorance of technology results in them brushing off the privacy concerns raised by election officials using their personal cell phones to take pictures of voters!
Read the whole OpEd on SentinelSource.com.