HB1076

Chairman and Members of the Committee, My name is Alex de Geofroy, and I write to you today from a unique vantage point in New Hampshire municipal governance. I have served the City of Rochester as a City Councilor, as a Moderator, and currently as a Ward Clerk. I have been the person responsible for the budget that buys the machines, and the person responsible for the integrity of the count once the polls close. I urge you to report HB1076 as Inexpedient to Legislate for the following reasons: 1. Operational Chaos and Administrative Instability As a Ward Clerk, I know that election administration requires significant planning. HB1076 allows a town meeting to rescind the use of tabulators with a 60-day effective date. In a city like Rochester, switching to a full hand-count on two months' notice would be an administrative catastrophe. We would need to recruit and train dozens of additional workers in a labor market where poll workers are already scarce. 2. The Fiscal Irresponsibility of "On-Again, Off-Again" Technology As a former City Councilor, I view this bill as a threat to municipal budgets. Electronic tabulators are significant capital investments. Allowing a single, high-emotion Town Meeting to "rescind" the use of equipment that the taxpayers just spent thousands of dollars on is fiscally reckless. It turns a long-term infrastructure decision into a yearly political football. 3. Hand Counting Increases Error, Not Integrity In my experience as a Moderator, I have overseen hand-counts. While the "FUD" (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) narrative suggests machines are the "black box," the reality is that human fatigue is the greatest threat to accuracy. At 11:00 PM, after a 15-hour day, human beings struggle to tally "Vote for N#" races on a paper ballot. Our current electronic tabulators are state-approved, air-gapped, and produce a paper trail that we already use for audits and recounts. 4. Undermining Public Confidence through Delay NH election law requires the count to continue until finished. For a ward or town of any significant size, a mandatory hand-count means results will not be available until the early morning hours. In today’s climate, these delays are the primary fuel for conspiracy theories. By mandating a slower, more error-prone process, this bill inadvertently creates the very "lack of trust" it claims to solve. Election policy should be driven by the officials who have to execute it: the Clerks and Moderators, not by a warrant article process that can be swayed by the latest social media trend. We already have robust laws for hand-counting when results are in doubt. HB1076 is an unfunded mandate for chaos. I respectfully ask the committee to vote ITL on HB1076.

The municipalities go through many requirements in order to purchase ballot counting machines. The most recent machines purchased took 4 years from piloting machines to purchasing and putting to use after being reviewed by Ballot Law Commission and Secretary of State. In addition we now have Accessible voting machines that are required by law after a recent court ruling. Not sure that this would be legal to eliminate all ballot counting devices. Also, I am not sure how the legislative body would go to the Ballot Law Commission to ask to rescind the ballot counting devices. Would they do that before or after they put the warrant on the ballot and then would the Ballot Law commission have the final say on what happens.?

Electronic voting systems have been thoroughly audited and studied, and I imagine they will continue to be. Voting safety and security is certainly an important topic, but there is no evidence to warrant any concern that there are problems with current systems. The idea that we should allow municipalities to decide how they vote is noble, but New Hampshire MUST stay united in its voting systems or else we will fall into chaos and disarray when voting time comes. This feels more like an effort to restrict and complicate voting rather than make it more secure. I oppose this bill strongly under the premise of a United New Hampshire with regard to our voting practices.

I'm submitting this testimony electronically. It is absolutely stupid to eliminate electronic processing but regardless this is a local decision - made by the voters when they purchase or don't purchase or don't want to use their machines. They don't need the state telling them anything - just let them manage this on their own.

Position recorded without written comment.

Position recorded without written comment.

Position recorded without written comment.

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Position recorded without written comment.

Position recorded without written comment.