40-Year-Old Election Law That Let New Hampshire Throw Out Ballots Overturned

A federal judge has struck down as unconstitutional a 40-year-old election law that allowed local moderators in New Hampshire to toss out the absentee ballot of someone whose signature on an affidavit failed to match their completed ballot.

In a 49-page ruling, the judge said it was constitutionally flawed that the state could reject these votes without prior notice to the voter or giving that person the right to contest the decision.

U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire and three voters who had their ballots rejected in 2016.

The civil liberties group had identified nearly 800 voters who had their ballots rejected in this way in the last three general elections.

More