Voting

Bill to boost political finance transparency heads to Sununu’s desk

BY: - May 15, 2023

A bill to increase oversight of political advocacy organizations in New Hampshire is headed to Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk. House Bill 195 would expand which organizations would count as political advocacy organizations, a designation that requires them to register with the Secretary of State’s Office and report receipts and expenditures.  Currently, the label applies only […]

U.S. elections official takes part in secretive GOP conference, sparking backlash

BY: - April 17, 2023

This report has been updated on April 18, 2023 at 12:32 p.m. to clarify that the Election Assistance Commission is subject to the federal ethics code for executive branch employees.  A commissioner of a federal elections agency recently spoke at a secretive conference of conservative voting activists and Republican secretaries of state and congressional staff […]

Federal agencies lag in registering voters despite Biden executive order, advocates say

BY: - April 12, 2023

Within weeks of taking office in 2021, President Joe Biden issued an executive order – hailed by voter advocates as potentially transformative – that for the first time committed the U.S. government to registering new voters at federal agencies. But just over two years later, most of the 10 agencies examined in a recent report […]

New ‘provisional ballot’-type system to debut next week during Rochester special election

BY: - February 13, 2023

For the candidates in next week’s special House election in Rochester, the circumstances may feel familiar. Republican David Walker is facing off against Democrat Chuck Grassie in a rematch, after the election in November resulted in a dead tie.  But this time around, the process will be slightly different. The Feb. 21 election marks the […]

Defying DNC, state Senate passes unanimous resolution supporting first-in-the-nation primary

BY: - February 9, 2023

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the New Hampshire Senate affirmed its support for the state’s first-in-the-nation primary, passing a resolution 23-0 that clashed with the recently passed demands of the Democratic National Committee.  Passed by voice vote with all but one senator present, Senate Resolution 1 advocates for New Hampshire’s position at the front of […]

DNC delivers blow to New Hampshire, Iowa with overhaul of primary calendar

BY: - February 4, 2023

This story was updated on Feb. 5 at 10:40 a.m. to correct the Michigan primary date. The Democratic National Committee approved a presidential primary calendar Saturday that placed South Carolina as the first nominating state in 2024, pushing back New Hampshire and Iowa from their traditional spots in a party-wide effort to diversify the early […]

New Hampshire Senate weighs making voting machine audits permanent

BY: - January 31, 2023

During the 2022 elections, the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office audited voting machines in six different polling places, checking for accuracy and consistency as part of a one-time requirement by the Legislature.  Now, Senate lawmakers are hoping to make the auditing permanent.  Senate Bill 157 would require the office to audit at least two […]

Ahead of DNC meeting, tensions mount over New Hampshire’s political future

BY: - January 31, 2023

When members of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee voted in December to propose a new calendar for the party’s presidential primary lineup – one that replaced New Hampshire with South Carolina as the host of the first-in-the-nation primary – many national Democrats saw a chance for progress. “This calendar does what is […]

Republicans seek major voting overhauls, but chances of success appear slim

BY: - January 24, 2023

The bills were as ambitious as they were short-lived. A pair of Republican attempts to overhaul who gets to vote in party primaries – and who gets to run – suffered major setbacks last week, when the House Election Law Committee voted to recommend they not move forward. One bill, House Bill 101, would have […]

Rochester special election to occur on Feb. 21

BY: - December 21, 2022

A special election for a Rochester House race that ended in a tie has been scheduled for Feb. 21 by the Rochester City Council. The special election comes as the House is deeply divided, with Republicans holding 201 seats and the Democrats 198. The special election will determine whether the only remaining undecided seat goes […]

Democrats move to strip New Hampshire of first in the nation primary after day-long discussion

BY: - December 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — Voters in South Carolina would go first in picking Democratic presidential nominees, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan if their states go along with a proposal a key Democratic National Committee panel approved Friday. The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s nearly unanimous voice vote proposes moving the Democratic primary’s earliest election date […]

Second in the nation? White House proposes bumping New Hampshire primary, angering state Democrats

BY: - December 1, 2022

New Hampshire Democrats received a jolt Thursday evening after Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said the White House will propose that South Carolina be the first presidential primary – and New Hampshire be bumped to second place.  Shaheen said she had spoken to the White House that evening and learned that President Joe Biden preferred that South […]