Rules have NOT changed in NH
UPDATE: Gambling911 has posted a response to my article. Let me back up to say that I appreciate all the great articles that they have done on Dr Paul. But I just know that their article has given a lot of people the impression that independents won't be able to vote in NH, and that just isn't the case. Yes, they will have to switch temporarily to Republican, then switch back, but that is how it was last election as well. So I think they and I are arguing over semantics. FYI, I would much rather have the primaries completely open, of course. Here's what it says on the Secretary of State's page in NH:
POLITICAL PARTIES
When registering to vote, you will not be required to register as a member of a political party (republican or democratic) -- you may register as an undeclared voter. If you are registered as an undeclared voter and go to vote in a state primary election, you will be required to choose a party when accepting a ballot. Voters should be aware of their party status before a primary election. If you voted on a party ballot in the 2006 state primary, you are now a registered member of that party unless you filled out a card to return to undeclared status with the supervisors of the checklist.
If you are unsure of your party affiliation, you should contact your town or city clerk, as they have the records of party membership. Or, if you are a party member and wish to change your registration status, initiate such a change by taking one of the following steps:
Presidential Primary
1) Meet with the Supervisors of the Checklist no later than the day prior to the filing period for the Presidential Primary (October 12, 2007). This is the last day you can change your party affiliation before the Presidential Primary.
2) If you are a registered member of a party, you may change your registration at any primary, however, you will not be allowed to vote in that primary. Undeclared voters may declare a party and vote at any primary. The law allows an undeclared voter to declare a party at the polls, vote the ballot of that party, and then change their party affiliation back to undeclared simply by completing the form available from the Supervisors of the Checklist at the polling place
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Our web site and meetup group has been swamped with e-mails from folks around the country concerned with the changes in the voting rules in NH. This is frustrating since the rules HAVE NOT CHANGED in NH. So all these e-mails are just taking away our precious time from what needs to be done. This all got started by an article on gambling911. It makes allegations of voting rules changes across the country that are designed to keep Ron Paul from getting the primary nomination. Now some of the allegations may be true in other states, I'm not familiar with their history. But here in NH the rules have not changed. We were a closed primary before, and are still a closed primary. Here's what the gambling911 article said about NH:
Many states, in an effort to shut out Ron Paul are now closing their primaries. That means that only Republicans can vote in the Presidential primaries for a Republican candidate. Many states are doing this quickly and quietly and giving people very little time to learn about the new rules. For example, New Hampshire decided only a week ago that you will now have to change your party affiliation by October 12, 2007 or it will be too late to do so. New Hampshire also has a closed primary and only Republicans and possibly Independents will be allowed to vote for Ron Paul.
So the first error is that we have changed from an open to a closed primary. We were always a closed primary (must register as a Republican to vote in the primary). It is true that the date got announced only recently, but that is a function of the primary date being moved up due to other states trying to get an early primary. The other major error is that it says "possibly Independents" will not be able to vote for Ron Paul. This is not true - independents can show up the day of the primary and change to Republican and vote (and change back after the vote). The Oct 12 deadline ONLY AFFECTS PEOPLE THAT ARE CURRENTLY REGISTERED AS DEMOCRATS. And in NH, since independents can vote in either primary, most folks are independents (around 43%).
Only 26% of registered voters in NH are Democrats. It's possible we could win some of this 26% over (and have already), but we are more likely to get independent and Republican voters than the registered democrats. And we will have up until the day of the primary to do that. By all means, spread the word to your Democrat friends to switch parties to vote for Ron Paul.
Read more at RonPaulHQ
POLITICAL PARTIES
When registering to vote, you will not be required to register as a member of a political party (republican or democratic) -- you may register as an undeclared voter. If you are registered as an undeclared voter and go to vote in a state primary election, you will be required to choose a party when accepting a ballot. Voters should be aware of their party status before a primary election. If you voted on a party ballot in the 2006 state primary, you are now a registered member of that party unless you filled out a card to return to undeclared status with the supervisors of the checklist.
If you are unsure of your party affiliation, you should contact your town or city clerk, as they have the records of party membership. Or, if you are a party member and wish to change your registration status, initiate such a change by taking one of the following steps:
Presidential Primary
1) Meet with the Supervisors of the Checklist no later than the day prior to the filing period for the Presidential Primary (October 12, 2007). This is the last day you can change your party affiliation before the Presidential Primary.
2) If you are a registered member of a party, you may change your registration at any primary, however, you will not be allowed to vote in that primary. Undeclared voters may declare a party and vote at any primary. The law allows an undeclared voter to declare a party at the polls, vote the ballot of that party, and then change their party affiliation back to undeclared simply by completing the form available from the Supervisors of the Checklist at the polling place
----------------------
Our web site and meetup group has been swamped with e-mails from folks around the country concerned with the changes in the voting rules in NH. This is frustrating since the rules HAVE NOT CHANGED in NH. So all these e-mails are just taking away our precious time from what needs to be done. This all got started by an article on gambling911. It makes allegations of voting rules changes across the country that are designed to keep Ron Paul from getting the primary nomination. Now some of the allegations may be true in other states, I'm not familiar with their history. But here in NH the rules have not changed. We were a closed primary before, and are still a closed primary. Here's what the gambling911 article said about NH:
Many states, in an effort to shut out Ron Paul are now closing their primaries. That means that only Republicans can vote in the Presidential primaries for a Republican candidate. Many states are doing this quickly and quietly and giving people very little time to learn about the new rules. For example, New Hampshire decided only a week ago that you will now have to change your party affiliation by October 12, 2007 or it will be too late to do so. New Hampshire also has a closed primary and only Republicans and possibly Independents will be allowed to vote for Ron Paul.
So the first error is that we have changed from an open to a closed primary. We were always a closed primary (must register as a Republican to vote in the primary). It is true that the date got announced only recently, but that is a function of the primary date being moved up due to other states trying to get an early primary. The other major error is that it says "possibly Independents" will not be able to vote for Ron Paul. This is not true - independents can show up the day of the primary and change to Republican and vote (and change back after the vote). The Oct 12 deadline ONLY AFFECTS PEOPLE THAT ARE CURRENTLY REGISTERED AS DEMOCRATS. And in NH, since independents can vote in either primary, most folks are independents (around 43%).
Only 26% of registered voters in NH are Democrats. It's possible we could win some of this 26% over (and have already), but we are more likely to get independent and Republican voters than the registered democrats. And we will have up until the day of the primary to do that. By all means, spread the word to your Democrat friends to switch parties to vote for Ron Paul.
