MANCHESTER — A superior court judge has struck down GOP-backed legislation designed to tighten the state’s voter-registration laws, ruling the measure unconstitutional for the burdens it places upon certain groups of voters.

In his 55-page order handed down Wednesday, Judge David Anderson found in favor of the plaintiffs, which include the League of Women Voters, the state Democratic Party and an assortment of individual voters, on counts I and III of the four-count lawsuit filed in late 2017.

On Count I, Anderson agreed with the plaintiffs that SB 3 violates the state constitution by “burdening the right to vote” of certain citizens,

In Count III, he also agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that SB 3 violates prospective voters’ right to equal protection.

Anderson ruled in favor of the state on Count IV, in which the plaintiffs had argued SB 3 should be “void for vagueness.”

Anderson had dismissed Count II at an earlier hearing.

A full story will appear in Friday’s Telegraph and on www.nashuatelegraph.com.

–DEAN SHALHOUP

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