House Majority Whip Statement on Supreme Court SB3 Decision

CONCORD – NH House Majority Whip, Rep. Kathleen M. Hoelzel, former chair of the House Election Law committee and longtime moderator for the Town of Raymond issued the following statement relative to the Supreme Court’s decision to grant a stay relative to the lower Court injunction issued yesterday barring the implementation of SB3 for the upcoming General Election.

“I’m glad the Supreme Court has resolved this matter for the time being, however, the lower court’s order and the publicity it has caused has now created questions in the minds of the public,” offered Rep. Hoelzel, “The bill is supposed to protect the integrity of the elections, and now we have people questioning why the judges are involved in making the laws, and creating confusion at the last minute.”

Rep. Hoelzel continued, “The lower court’s order caused more confusion than was necessary. It required election officials to redact text on materials with permanent marker, refer to forms but not actually use them, and create hybrid forms using one page from one form, and other material from another form. It laid out a completely bizarre process. The goal of the legislature was to clarify the law, increase confidence in the process, and remove loopholes. We’re lucky the Supreme Court put a stop to what could have been a court ordered Election Day circus.”