New Hampshire 2026 Session Status: Passed House 8 R cosponsors

HB 1272 — providing an option for each candidate's party affiliations to be printed on the town or school district ballot.

Last action — Inexpedient to Legislate, MA, VV === BILL KILLED ===; 04/16/2026; SJ 9

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has passed the House. Introduced December 01, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.

Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Moderate chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a moderate chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 38% · moderate confidence

  • Passed House

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (8 R).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

(New Title) providing an option for each candidate's party affiliations to be printed on the town or school district ballot.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

56 added · 50 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent changes to HB 1272 shift the language from requiring candidates' party affiliations to be printed on ballots to making this option contingent on voter approval. Now, before party affiliations appear on a ballot, towns will hold a vote where residents can decide whether they want this information included. This matters because it gives local voters a say in how their ballots are presented, allowing for more flexibility and responsiveness to community preferences regarding party identification.

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Previous
Latest
HB 1272 - AS INTRODUCED SESSION 26-2836 08/06 HOUSE BILL 1272 AN ACT providing that each candidate's party affiliation be printed on the town or school district ballot.
HB 1272 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE 11Mar2026...
0947h SESSION 26-2836 08/06 HOUSE BILL 1272 AN ACT providing an option for each candidate's party affiliations to be printed on the town or school district ballot.
Election Law ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ANALYSIS This bill provides that each candidate's party affiliation be printed on the town or school district ballot.
Election Law ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── AMENDED ANALYSIS This bill provides an option for each candidate's party affiliation to be printed on the town or school district ballot.
HB 1272 - AS INTRODUCED 26-2836 08/06 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six AN ACT providing that each candidate's party affiliation be printed on the town or school district ballot.
HB 1272 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE 11Mar2026...
0947h 26-2836 08/06 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six AN ACT providing an option for each candidate's party affiliations to be printed on the town or school district ballot.
Any town that has adopted an official ballot system under RSA 669:12 or RSA 669:13 may vote to include on the official ballot each candidate’s party affiliation after the candidate’s name, under an article in the warrant for any town meeting.
Any town that has adopted an official ballot system under RSA 669:12 or RSA 669:13 may vote to include on the official ballot each candidate’s party affiliation after the candidate’s name, unless waived by the candidate, under an article in the warrant for any town meeting.
The town clerk shall cause to be printed on the official ballot the question, "Shall the official ballot contain the party affiliation of each candidate, appearing after each candidate’s name, pursuant to RSA 669:13-a, I?”, which question shall be followed by boxes in which the voter may indicate "Yes" or "No".
The town clerk shall cause to be printed on the official ballot the question, "Shall the official ballot contain the party affiliation of each candidate, appearing after each candidate’s name, pursuant to RSA 669:13- a, I?”, which question shall be followed by boxes in which the voter may indicate "Yes" or "No".
When filing for office, a candidate may notify the town clerk that no party affiliation shall appear after their name on the official ballot.
Any school district may vote to include on the official ballot each candidate’s party affiliation after the candidate’s name, under an article in the warrant for any town meeting.
Any school district may vote to include on the official ballot each candidate’s party affiliation after the candidate’s name, unless waived by the candidate, under an article in the warrant for any town meeting.
The school district clerk shall cause to be printed on the official ballot the question, "Shall the official ballot contain the party affiliation of each candidate, appearing after each candidate’s name, pursuant to RSA 671:20, III?”, which question shall be followed by boxes in which the voter may HB 1272 - AS INTRODUCED - Page 2 - indicate "Yes" or "No".
The school district clerk shall cause to be printed on the official HB 1272 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE - Page 2 - ballot the question, "Shall the official ballot contain the party affiliation of each candidate, appearing after each candidate’s name, pursuant to RSA 671:20, III?”, which question shall be followed by boxes in which the voter may indicate "Yes" or "No".
When filing for office, a candidate may notify the school district clerk that no party affiliation shall appear after their name on the official ballot.
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Action History

  1. Inexpedient to Legislate, MA, VV === BILL KILLED ===; 04/16/2026; SJ 9

  2. Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate, 04/16/2026, Vote 4-0, CC; SC 14

  3. Hearing: 03/31/2026, Room 122-123, SH, 01:30 pm; SC 12

  4. Introduced 03/12/2026 and Referred to Election Law and Municipal Affairs; SJ 7

  5. Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0947h: MA DV 171-156 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 146

  6. Amendment # 2026-0947h: AA VV 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 145

  7. Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate

  8. Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0947h 03/03/2026 (Vote 9-7; RC) HC 10 P. 41

  9. Executive Session: 03/03/2026 10:00 am GP 158

  10. Public Hearing: 02/17/2026 11:20 am GP 158

  11. Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Election Law HJ 1 P. 13

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 407 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (407)

407 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 407 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1272 do?
(New Title) providing an option for each candidate's party affiliations to be printed on the town or school district ballot.
Who sponsors HB 1272?
HB 1272 is sponsored by Linda McGrath (Republican), Mary Murphy (Republican), Robert Wherry (Republican), John Sellers (Republican), Richard Brown (Republican), Diane Pauer (Republican), Tom Mannion (Republican), and Mary Ford (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1272?
This bill has passed the House. Introduced December 01, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Where can I track HB 1272?
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