If there is one thing all Americans can agree on it’s that members of our military deserve our respect. Unfortunately, a bill being considered in the New Hampshire legislature would make it more difficult for New Hampshire citizens serving in the military to make their voices heard and vote, even as they protect our country around the world.

We have a proud history of absentee voting in the U.S. military. In fact, absentee voting started in the military to give service members in the War of 1812 and the Civil War the ability to exercise that right for which they were willing to sacrifice all. For the past two decades, our service members deployed to the Middle East and other theaters, and today they are preparing to deploy to eastern Europe, with thousands already on the ground.

The NH Senate recently passed SB 418, which creates new complicated voting rules. Whether the bill’s authors intended to or not, this bill would directly limit the opportunity for members of the military stationed overseas to cast their ballot and likely violate federal law that protects military voters. In short, the legislation would limit opportunities for members of the military to participate in the democracy they are safeguarding.

As the bill is currently written, it would be nearly impossible for New Hampshire’s local election officials to mail ballots to active duty military voters for future general elections in line with federal requirements.

Here’s why: Because the bill needlessly complicates New Hampshire’s elections process, certification of winners of New Hampshire primary elections starting in 2024 may be delayed for weeks. However, the Uniformed And Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), a federal law that determines processes for members of the military to cast their ballot, requires ballots to be mailed to military voters 45 days before a federal election.

That means that local election officials are required to mail general election ballots to military members only a few days after, and possibly even before, primary election results are certified under SB 418. This creates an impossible task for local election officials and may ultimately restrict our armed service members from casting their ballots.

Even Gov. Chris Sununu recently said he has “a lot of hesitation” about the legislation in its current form, as it could significantly change New Hampshire’s already strong election system.

With just a few months before the next election, now is not the time to make our local election officials’ job more difficult, as they already face many unneeded threats and complications to run our elections. Similarly, with more New Hampshire service members being deployed to NATO countries in Eastern Europe due to the war in Ukraine, we cannot make voting more difficult for them.

Lawmakers should listen to Governor Sununu and reject SB 418 in its current form and take more time to develop a proposal that better balances accountability, transparency and the interests of New Hampshire voters — especially our men and women in uniform.

Diego Echeverri is a U.S. Army combat zone veteran and director of advocacy for Secure Democracy USA, a nonpartisan organization working to make elections more accountable and transparent in New Hampshire and nationwide.