The NHACLU Withdraws Federal Case for Fear of Losing “Special Privileges” Given Out-of-State Student Voters
by Ed Naile
On February 13, 2019
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of New Hampshire filed a lawsuit against NH in federal court challenging a recently passed election law, HB1264, that they claim, without evidence or court precedent, unconstitutionally restricts the right to vote for out-of-state college students who overwhelmingly vote Democrat. They say getting a NH driver’s license upon becoming a NH citizen is a poll tax.
The Coalition of NH Taxpayers filed a MOTION to INTERVENE designed to win the case and stop out-of-state student voters who have voted here by the thousands since 1972 when the resident/domicile scam began. Our Office of Attorney General has always offered limp resistance to ACLU cases. Which is even mentioned by the court in the 1972 Newburger v. Peterson federal case.
Federal Judge LaPlante dismissed the CNHT motion and suggested it be re-filed as an AMICUS brief.
Let’s get this straight:
Judge LaPlante dismissed CNHT’s motion to intervene but had already accepted a case brought by two non-citizens of this state who had no standing to bring a case against NH. They are not legal residents of NH and have no right to sue for a right they do not have.
On October 30, 2019
The ACLU filed an Amended Complaint challenging NB 1264.
The amended case seems to try and re-litigate Newburger v. Peterson of 1972 with some new reference to imaginary “poll taxes.”
Newburger was about preventing a person from voting because he claimed he intended to leave NH in the near future. Another set-up case brought by a Dartmouth student. The federal court in that case followed a similar case in Tennessee, the “Dunn Case.”
But that court also said voters had to abandon their previous domicile upon claiming NH as their legal residence.
November 2019
U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante ruled against the ACLU’s request to block the law from being enforced in time for the first-in-the-national presidential primary in February.
He did not let the NHACLU use a case with no standing affect the NH Primary.
LaPlante had some questions about how the law could interact with the state’s motor vehicle code and election rules. He submitted five questions to the state supreme court for review.
None of LaPlante’s questions regarded how an illegal out-of-state voter would lawfully serve on a NH jury, since potential jurors for county and federal cases are selected from NH voter checklists.
LaPlante never asked about the incongruity of out-of-state tuition paying students attending state colleges who seem to understand the NH state college domicile forms but not simple election law.
The federal judge never asked the NHACLU lawyers or the NH Supra for an explanation of how out-of-state college students are disenfranchised from voting when it is perfectly legal to vote in the state or country of which they are legal residents.
Judge LaPlante did not ask how by voting in NH out-of-state student voters violate the election laws of their home state.
May 20, 2020
The NH Supra again answered questions about the residency/domicile scam. Again, they said the words resident/residence used in in NH election laws meant the same as the precise legal term, domicile. To vote in NH you must do so in the “town or ward in which you are domiciled.” The word resident is not in the NH State Constitution chapter on voting. The word “inhabitant” is but we do not use that word as an excuse to let out-of-state students vote here.
May 22, 2020
The NHACLU withdrew their shoddy case for fear the federal judge would decide against them because – we are really talking about federal elections. No judge can say, “OK, NH let anyone from any state vote in your elections for federal office.”
Our state officials and liberal judges have been playing stupid for decades to make certain Democrats have the edge in statewide elections through the votes of the overwhelming Democrat base of out-of-state college students.
And our news media is just as guilty. They write articles saying NH is the only state the allows, or it is legal for, out-of-state college students to vote. That is a lie.
NH voters have never had a say in who votes here. Courts and election officials have ushered this disgrace along. NH citizens should be able to see their constitutional rights protected. In this case the constitution is perfectly clear. You must have a domicile.
While we are discussing election laws and the State Constitution.
Our State Constitution demands a domicile to vote – an established domicile not an imaginary one in your head. Domicile is a matter of facts.
Are the Dartmouth students who posed as confused litigants in this newest NHACLU election case liable for income taxes in their home states? If they have drivers licenses in their legal states – they certainly are. That is how states track state income taxpayers.
Just because the NH courts have approved of HB 1264 and the resident/domicile scam looks to be over. Don’t count on it.
If the US Justice Department wants to tap our election officials on the shoulder and inform them of federal statutes – then we can rest easy. But NH election officials and courts have gotten away with this scam and the Claremont “decisions” for so long they will not go quietly.
Here is one federal law regarding lying to election officials in federal elections:
52 USC 10307: Prohibited acts
Text contains those laws in effect on May 26, 2020
(c) False information in registering or voting; penalties
Whoever knowingly or willfully gives false information as to his name, address or period of residence in the voting district for the purpose of establishing his eligibility to register or vote, or conspires with another individual for the purpose of encouraging his false registration to vote or illegal voting, or pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both: Provided, however, That this provision shall be applicable only to general, special, or primary elections held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or electing any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the United States Senate, Member of the United States House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, Guam, or the Virgin Islands, or Resident Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
2020 elections for President and Vice President are right around the corner. If the Republicans want to have votes of NH citizens, and only NH citizens counted it might be time for a visit by DOJ officials from DC. Or wake up the DOJ in NH.
Make sure any candidate for any office in NH knows how voter fraud works in our state. It starts with lack of prosecution and word games about so-called loopholes.
If you run into any election officials in our state, ask them this:
If a person holding an out-of-state driver’s license is a registered voter in New Hampshire – how does this “special resident voter” serve on a NH jury?
No election official or judge touches that question. And they have had since 1972 to do it.
There is no loophole that allows non-citizens to vote simply because they go to college here.