NH Voter Hits Proof-of-Citizenship Snag as SAVE Act Looms

In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, last fall, 31-year-old Joshua Bogdan encountered unexpected hurdles at his polling place while attempting to vote in local elections. A lifelong U.S. citizen who had never lived abroad except for a brief school trip to Canada, Bogdan presented his driver's license upon arriving, as he had in previous elections. Poll workers, however, informed him that the state's new proof-of-citizenship requirement, effective for the first time in 2025 town elections, demanded a passport or birth certificate since he had recently moved and needed to reregister.

The incident transformed what Bogdan described as a typically enjoyable civic process into a stressful rush. "I didn't know that anything had officially changed walking in there," he said. "And then being told that I had to provide a passport that I've never had or a birth certificate that's usually tucked away somewhere safe just to cast my vote which I've done before, it was frustrating." By chance, Bogdan had his birth certificate with him after retrieving it from his parents' home over an hour away to apply for a REAL ID. He ultimately voted, but he noted that poll workers appeared unaware of a state...