NH joins Voter Registration Crosscheck Program for 2017

The Secretary of State is preparing New Hampshire’s voter registration lists to share with the Voter Registration Crosscheck Program in 2017.

Earlier this year, NH lawmakers passed a bill that authorized participation in the program, which cross-checks voter rolls from 29 states for any matches on first name, last name, and birth date.  The program sends the list of matching names back to each state to investigate. 

Supporters of the program argue that it helps keep voter lists clean and prevent voters from fraudulently voting in more than one state.

Opponents of the program argue that many people have the same first name, last name, and birth date, which leads to false positives.  The Voter Registration Crosscheck Program has been used to purge voter rolls in other states, disproportionately removing minority and young apartment dwellers from the lists.

There are other national programs to cross-check voter rolls that use more data points, such as the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).  The Legislature only authorized the Secretary of State to participate in the Voter Registration Crosscheck Program.