New Hampshire Tightens Requirements for Voters

Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire signed a bill on Thursday that creates a strict photo identification requirement to vote, allowing for no exceptions. The bill would also require first-time voters to present proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The law does not take effect for 60 days, meaning it will have no impact on the upcoming elections.

Current law allows voters in New Hampshire who show up at the polls without proper identification to cast a ballot with an affidavit, and gives them seven days to return with proper identification. That law will still be in place in November.

Going forward, there will be no exceptions to the photo identification rules, and first-time voters will need to present a birth certificate, passport or other official citizenship document to register.

Initially, both Mr. Sununu and David M. Scanlan, the New Hampshire secretary of state, expressed reservations about the legislation. Mr. Sununu had said that he was “not looking into making significant changes in voting laws.” Mr. Scanlan had noted that implementing the law in time for the 2024 election “could be done, but not without challenges.”

A statement from the governor’s office on Thursday indicated that the secretary of state had been consulted and added a “reminder” that the “2024 election will not be impacted in any way.”

“We have a proud tradition and proven track record of conducting elections that are trusted and true,” Mr. Sununu, a Republican, said in a statement. “Looking forward to the next decade or two, this legislation will instill even more integrity and trust in the voting process.”

But critics argued that the law makes New Hampshire the only state in the country to require such specific proof of citizenship to register to vote. In 2018, a similar law in Kansas was struck down by a federal judge.

“This extreme legislation signed by the governor will roll back voting access for all eligible Granite Staters,” said McKenzie Taylor, director for the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights, in a statement. “Once this law goes into effect later this year, any voter may be turned away from the polls if they did not have the correct documents, creating massive new changes to New Hampshire’s registration system, burdening our election officials, and disenfranchising eligible voters.”