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HB 693

relative to ballot counting procedures and permitting the hand counting of ballots.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by J.D. Bernardy and 4 co-sponsors

HB 693 would authorize hand counting of ballots and establish the procedures for when and how it can be used.

Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 01/07/2026 HJ 1 P. 50
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 693

Summary of HB 693 (2026) — New Hampshire

Overview

HB 693 proposes changes to ballot counting procedures in New Hampshire and explicitly permits hand counting of ballots. The bill's language, voting history, and committee actions suggest a focus on procedural options for counting ballots, with potential implications for election administration, auditability, and workforce requirements.

  • Jurisdiction: New Hampshire
  • Session: 2026
  • Title: Relative to ballot counting procedures and permitting the hand counting of ballots
  • Status overview from the record: The bill has undergone multiple committee cycles and has a history of being reported as “Inexpedient to Legislate” by the committee (House Committee on Election Law) with activity in 2025 and early 2026. The action history shows various milestones, including public hearings, executive sessions, and a final committee report indicating the measure’s status at two points.

Note: The action history provided indicates the bill has not advanced to final passage and has been designated “Inexpedient to Legislate” by the committee in at least one instance. This status would typically mean the bill is unlikely to become law in its current form, unless revived or amended and reassessed by the legislature.

Purpose and Intent

  • Establish or clarify ballot counting procedures for elections in New Hampshire.
  • Explicitly permit hand counting of ballots as an alternative to machine counting, subject to the bill’s specified conditions and safeguards.
  • Seek to address issues related to election administration, voter confidence, and transparency by allowing a non-machine method of tallying votes.

Key Provisions (as generally inferred from the title and related action history)

  • Authorization of Hand Counting: The bill would permit, under defined circumstances or standards, the hand counting of ballots.
  • Procedural Guardrails: While not detailed in the provided summary, typical provisions would include:
    • Scope: Which elections or ballots are covered (e.g., state, federal, municipal, or specific offices).
    • Standards: Procedures for hand counting (e.g., how counts are recorded, what constitutes an official tally).
    • Observers and Transparency: Provisions for observers (candidates, parties, or the public) to monitor hand counting.
    • Contingencies: How to handle discrepancies, audits, or recounts if hand counting is used.
    • Training and Certification: Requirements for personnel performing hand counts.
  • Relationship to Existing Systems: The bill would presumably operate alongside existing machine counting or tabulation systems, outlining when hand counting can be used and how results are reported.

Who Would Be Affected

  • State and local election officials responsible for administering elections and counting ballots.
  • Poll workers and election staff tasked with conducting hand counts or overseeing enumerations.
  • Candidates, political parties, and voters seeking greater transparency or alternative counting methods.
  • Voter-adjacent entities (e.g., observers, audit boards) involved in monitoring or auditing results.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • Introduction and Referral: Introduced in January 2025 (in recess of 01/09/2025) and referred to the Election Law committee.
  • Public Hearings and Executive Sessions: Public hearing held February 18, 2025; multiple executive sessions in 2025 and 2026.
  • Committee Action: The committee reported the bill as “Inexpedient to Legislate” on at least one occasion (09/16/2025, with a vote tally recorded as 17-0 in committee).
  • Subsequent Actions: The bill shows continued committee engagement through early 2026, with a formal action history entry on 2026-01-07 indicating “Inexpedient to Legislate” in the session’s record.
  • Likelihood of Passage: Based on the action history noting “Inexpedient to Legislate” by the committee in multiple instances, the measure faced significant hurdles and, in its current form, is unlikely to become law without substantial revision or reconsideration.

Potential Implications if Enacted (Hypothetical)

  • Increased flexibility in ballot counting, enabling local jurisdictions to choose hand counting under specified conditions.
  • Impacts on transparency and public trust, as hand counting can be perceived as more transparent by some observers.
  • Resource and training requirements for election staff to ensure accurate hand tallies.
  • Possible need for parallel procedures to reconcile differences between hand counts and machine counts, including audit and recount provisions.

Key Takeaways

  • HB 693 would authorize hand counting of ballots and outline related procedures.
  • The bill has a substantial history of committee consideration but appears to have been deemed “Inexpedient to Legislate” by the committee in multiple actions, indicating limited current momentum.
  • If revived, the bill would need to specify scope, standards, observer rights, and reconciliation processes to be practically implementable.

If you want, I can compile a side-by-side comparison with current NH ballot counting rules and highlight exact procedural changes once the bill’s full text is available.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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