HB 1541 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

requiring the secretary of state to provide all voting precincts with secure containers for storing ballots.

HB 1541 requires New Hampshire's Secretary of State to provide all voting precincts with secure, lockable, tamper-evident containers for storing ballots before each election. These containers must be reusable, stackable, transportable, numbered, and designed to accommodate different ballot sizes. The bill mandates annual progress reports tracking container replacements and locations, using existing Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds without new state appropriations. It directly affects all local election offices statewide by standardizing ballot storage equipment.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Dec 10, 2025 Signed Jul 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Version adopted by both bodies → CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION · 3 edits

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made. The diff reflects only the standard administrative transition from a bill adopted by both legislative bodies to its final chaptered form (Chapter 327), including renumbering of sections, removal of the fiscal note, and addition of the governor's approval date.

TECHNICAL

Section numbers changed from sequential bill numbering (1, 2) to chapter-based numbering (327:1, 327:2), reflecting assignment as Chapter 327.

The fiscal note section (stating no additional fiscal impact and listing the Department of State as the agency contacted) was removed, which is standard when a bill becomes a chaptered act.

TIMELINE

Governor's approval date (July 15, 2026) and effective date (January 1, 2027) were added at the end of the document, as is standard in the final enrolled version.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jul 20, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by Governor Ayotte 07/15/2026; Chapter 327; eff. 01/01/2027

lower

Jun 23, 2026

Introduced

Enrolled Bill Amendment # 2026-2177e: AA VV (in recess of) 06/04/2026 HJ 15

lower

Jun 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Enrolled Bill Amendment # 2026-2177e Adopted, VV, (In recess of 06/04/2026); SJ 14

upper

Jun 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Report 2026-2091c: Adopted, VV 06/04/2026 HJ 15 P. 12

lower

May 29, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference Committee Report # 2026-2091c, Adopted, VV; 06/04/2026; SJ 14

upper

May 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference Committee Report Filed, # 2026-2091c; 06/04/2026

upper

May 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting: 05/28/2026 10:00 am GP 228

lower

May 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Meeting: 05/27/2026 10:40 am GP 228

lower

May 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Sen. Gray Accedes to House Request for Committee of Conference, MA, VV; (In recess 05/07/2026); SJ 12

upper

May 6, 2026

Introduced

House Non-Concurs with Senate Amendment 2026-1313s and Requests CofC (Rep. Berry): MA VV 04/23/2026 HJ 11 P. 84

lower

Apr 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Amendment # 2026-1313s, AA, VV; 04/09/2026; SJ 8

upper

Apr 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment #2026-1313s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/09/2026; SJ 8

upper

Apr 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1313s, 04/09/2026; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 13

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Introduced 03/05/2026 and Referred to Election Law and Municipal Affairs; SJ 6

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Ought to Pass: MA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 15

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass 02/10/2026 (Vote 17-0; CC) HC 9 P. 14

lower

Dec 10, 2025

Introduced

Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Election Law HJ 1 P. 25

lower

1 primary · 10 co-sponsors