New Hampshire

New Hampshire: Weeks before election, state appeals ruling striking down proof-of-citizenship voting law | Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin

A month after a federal judge struck down a law requiring hard proof of citizenship to register to vote in New Hampshire, the state Attorney General’s Office has requested a stay of the decision while it appeals. On May 28, Judge Samantha Elliott of the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire ruled that the Republican law imposes an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. Because of that ruling, first-time voters do not currently need hard proof of citizenship to register for the September state primary and November general elections, though they will need proof of identity, age, and domicile. The state’s motion, if successful, would allow the new proof-of-citizenship law to take effect this fall. Read Article

New Hampshire: Federal judge orders state to make it easier for voters to prove citizenship | Holly Ramer and Julie Carr Smyth/Associated Press

A federal judge has said that New Hampshire must make voter registration easier by allowing applicants to attest to their U.S. citizenship if they don’t have the documents to prove it. The case was seen as the first major legal test of an election reform that has been pushed nationally by President Donald Trump and has gained favor among many Republicans, though U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliot said she was not deciding whether requiring proof of citizenship itself is constitutional. Her ruling late Thursday night on a narrower question of New Hampshire law was significant, however, because it underscored the potential perils of implementing strict requirements for voters to document their U.S. citizenship so they can cast a ballot. Elliot found that changes in 2024 to the state voter registration law unconstitutionally removed one method of proof -- namely, a voter’s sworn affidavit attesting to citizenship. Read Article

New Hampshire: Student IDs no longer valid for voting under new law | Charlotte Matherly/Concord Monitor

College students in New Hampshire will no longer be able to use their student identification cards to vote, according to a new law signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Championed by State House Republicans, House Bill 323 allows residents to vote only with a government-issued ID, building on a growing number of voting restrictions enacted over the past few years. College students with a U.S. passport or state-issued driver’s license will still be able to vote, but out-of-state students who consider the state their primary residence but lack official forms of ID won’t be able to cast ballots. Voting rights advocates decried the change, saying students who attend college here should have a say in who governs them. Read Article

New Hampshire Republicans vote to end use of school IDs for elections | Todd Bookman/New Hampshire Public Radio

College and high school students would no longer be able to use photo identification cards issued by their schools to obtain a ballot, under a proposal that cleared the New Hampshire Senate on Thursday on a 16-8 vote. The New Hampshire House, on a near-party line vote, previously approved HB 323, which will now head to Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s desk. Republicans argue that ending the use of school-issued ID cards will strengthen election integrity and create more uniformity across polling locations. Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, a Democrat from Portsmouth, said the measure unfairly targets young voters who are otherwise qualified to participate in New Hampshire elections. “What this bill really does, in effect, is restrict the ability for college students to vote,” she said. Read Article

New Hampshire: Citing security, Republicans push to exclude student ID cards from voting verification | Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin

Weeks before a lawsuit against a recent New Hampshire voting law goes to trial in federal court, state lawmakers are pushing to tighten voting requirements further. The House passed a bill this month that would eliminate the ability for high school or college students to use their student identification cards to vote. Instead, under the proposed law, those students would be required to present an ID issued by the federal government or any U.S. state, such as a driver’s license, government ID card, or passport. It’s a contention at the heart of the yearslong partisan war over elections. Democrats and voting rights groups say the instances of voter fraud are vanishingly small and that the affidavit system still allowed for the prosecution of illegal voters. Imposing stricter requirements, on the other hand, could bar otherwise eligible voters from being able to vote, impeding on their rights, they argue. Read Article

New Hampshire: Judge strikes down challenge to absentee voting law | New Hampshire Public Radio

A superior court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of visually impaired New Hampshire voters who argued a newly passed absentee voter law violates the state constitution. In a lawsuit filed this summer, the plaintiffs alleged the measure, which was backed by state Republicans, places a disproportionate burden on people with disabilities by making it harder to vote. On Friday, New Hampshire Superior Court Judge David Ruoff dismissed the case, ruling that the new policies are reasonable. The new law requires people requesting an absentee ballot to prove their identity in one of three ways: either mail in a photocopy of an ID, along with their ballot application; have their ballot application notarized; or show an ID at town hall prior to an election. Read Article

New Hampshire: Several new voter laws go into effect with changes to absentee voting, hand-counting ballots | Margie Cullen/USA Today

Several new voting laws in New Hampshire are going into effect this month, making changes to rules concerning absentee ballots to electioneering. The new laws follow other restrictions made in 2024, like a strict ID law currently being challenged in court that requires identification to vote without exceptions. HB 154, which will go into effect on Sept. 30, allows voters to request that their ballot be hand-counted if they live in a town or ward that uses an electronic machine to count ballots. If a voter requests their ballot be hand counted, the election official manning the machine must place the ballot in the side-pocket or in a properly labeled ballot box to be hand-counted after the polls close. Read Article

New Hampshire Secretary of State rebuffs Trump administration request for state’s voter roll | Todd Bookman/NHPR

New Hampshire is among the states targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice seeking information about its voting system, including a request for a complete copy of the state’s voter registration list. The inquiry for sensitive voter information comes as the Trump administration continues to make false claims about the validity of election results. In a June 25 letter, officials from the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division asked New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan for information about a range of election policies, including how the state registers voters, removes deceased residents from voter rolls, and identifies non-citizens who may seek to register. The letter also requests a copy of New Hampshire’s statewide voter registration list: “Please include both active and inactive voters,” the letter says. State officials were given 30 days to comply with the request. Read Article

New Hampshire jury acquits consultant behind AI robocalls mimicking Biden on all charges | Holly Ramer/Associated Press

A political consultant who sent artificial intelligence-generated robocalls mimicking former President Joe Biden to New Hampshire Democrats last year was acquitted Friday of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate. Steven Kramer, 56, of New Orleans, admitted orchestrating a message sent to thousands of voters two days before the state’s Jan. 23, 2024, presidential primary. Recipients heard an AI-generated voice similar to the Democratic president’s that used his catchphrase “What a bunch of malarkey” and, as prosecutors alleged, suggested that voting in the primary would preclude voters from casting ballots in November. “It’s important that you save your vote for the November election,” voters were told. “Your votes make a difference in November, not this Tuesday.” Read Article

New Hampshire House passes bill allowing voters to request their ballot be hand-counted | Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin

The New Hampshire House passed a bill Wednesday allowing voters to request that their ballot be hand-counted by cities and towns, even if their polling place uses machine counting. House Bill 154 would allow any voter to make that request to a poll worker; if they did so, town election officials would be required to deposit the ballot in an “auxiliary compartment” of the ballot-counting machine to be hand-counted after the polls closed. The legislation comes amid a conservative movement against the use of voting tabulators in recent years. It also comes months after the state Supreme Court ruled that New Hampshire voters do not have a right to have their ballots counted by hand in towns that use machines. Read Article

New Hampshire Governor signs bill requiring accessible voting machines in every town for local elections | Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin

New Hampshire cities and towns will be required to provide accessible voting machines for all elections after January 2025, according to a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu this month. House Bill 1264, signed by Sununu July 3, states that every municipality must “ensure that each polling place has at least one accessible voting system” during every election. And it creates a pilot program requiring the Secretary of State’s Office to share those machines with towns and cities in spring 2025. “Now those of us with vision and print disabilities will be able to vote independently and keep our votes private like everyone else,” said Jean Shriner, an activist, in a statement reacting to the signing Friday. “For me, as a blind person, it’s empowering and exciting.” Currently, the Secretary of State’s Office provides accessible voting machines to cities and towns only during federal elections – as required by federal law. That includes the September state primaries, the November general elections, and the presidential primaries. Read Article

New Hampshire Secretary of State announces 50% state match for locals to buy new voting machines | Kevin Landrigan/Union Leader

City and town election officials can get state reimbursement of $3,500 per machine to replace each of their aging electronic voting machines, the state announced Monday. The state will use $3 million in federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grants to towns that make these purchases through June 30, 2026, to replace any AccuVote machine in use for state and federal elections. The reimbursement is about half what each machine will cost local taxpayers. The money also could be used by communities that don’t need newer machines to buy electronic poll books, which local officials can use to more quickly enter voter registration information at the polls and report results once all ballots are counted. Towns that count ballots by hand will receive a one-time $3,500 grant to improve their process, Secretary of State David Scanlan said. Read Article

New Hampshire authorities charge Democratic operative behind Biden AI robocall | Derek B. Johnson/CyberScoop

New Hampshire authorities on Thursday indicted the Democratic political operative Steve Kramer for his role in creating and distributing an AI-generated robocall that impersonated President Joe Biden and urged the state’s voters to not cast their ballots in January’s primary election. Kramer, who has admitted to being behind the creation of the robocall, was indicted on 13 counts of felony voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor counts of impersonating a political candidate. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said he believes the charges “send a strong deterrent signal to anyone who might consider interfering with elections, whether through the use of artificial intelligence or otherwise.” Read Article

New Hampshire Secretary of State now backs using fed surplus to support replacing aging voting machines | Kevin Landrigan/New Hampshire Union Leader

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan expressed support for using surplus funds from a federal election account to assist cities and towns in replacing aging voting machines, marking a departure from his previous reluctance. Scanlan advocated against a House-passed bill that would establish a $3 million matching grant program, citing concerns about potential strings attached to federal grants. The move comes as New Hampshire faces challenges with its current voting machines, with officials scrambling to find replacement parts. Scanlan emphasized the need for flexibility in the program to address diverse community needs, proposing support for items like E-polling books and tablets. Read Article

New Hampshire: Vote-counting machine foes hoped for a surge of success. They got barely a ripple | Nick Perry and Holly Ramer/Associated Press

“Electronic machines will face the wrath of New Hampshire voters in March!” Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and ally of former President Donald Trump, crowed in a January fundraising pitch. Not quite. After initially targeting 55 towns, Lindell’s supporters gathered enough petitions to bring the topic up at 23 of the annual town meetings held this month to adopt budgets and settle other matters. Only Danville — population 4,500 — voted in favor of hand-counting ballots, and only for presidential elections in a decision that both the town’s attorney and the secretary of state say is unlikely to stand. Read Article

New Hampshire: Seven more towns reject a ban on voting machines | Amanda Gokee/Boston Globe

A proposed ban on voting machines was rejected by voters in seven more towns in New Hampshire, following efforts led by a conservative group, the New Hampshire Patriot Hub, which enlisted the support of Mike Lindell, known for promoting false claims about the 2020 election. Brookline, Newbury, Campton, Meredith, Tamworth, Ossipee, and Plymouth all opted to continue using voting machines, with the proposal failing in varying vote margins or by voice vote. The push to ban voting machines has faced resistance across the state, with previous rejections in five towns and Danville passing a measure requiring a hand count for the presidential election. Read Article

New Hampshire: Conservative group pushes ban on voting machines | Amanda Gokee/Boston Globe

A conservative group in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Patriot Hub, is advocating to ban voting machines in nearly two dozen towns across the state, arguing that hand counting ballots is more accurate. This initiative, appearing on 22 town meeting warrants, has sparked debate among voters and voting rights groups. While proponents believe hand counting is transparent and less susceptible to hacking, experts caution against it, citing research showing machine counts are more accurate. The push to ban voting machines has divided communities, with concerns raised about potential errors and logistical challenges associated with hand counting. Read Article

New Hampshire: Two Weeks Before Election, Windham Town Clerk, Deputy Announce Resignations | Evan Lips/NH Journal

Windham Town Clerk Nicole Merrill, whose handling of the 2020 general election drew national scrutiny, has withdrawn from her reelection bid just two weeks before Election Day, citing health effects from a January accident as a primary reason. Deputy Town Clerk Hannah Davis also announced her resignation on the same day, citing intense pressure and lack of support from leadership. The aftermath of the 2020 election in Windham involved a recount that resulted in significant discrepancies, fueling conspiracy theories and becoming central to the "Stop the Steal" movement. A forensic audit later attributed the issue to machine-folded absentee ballots misinterpreted by scanners. Following a state investigation, the appointment of a monitor was announced for the 2022 primaries due to town officials' shortcuts, including the use of an uncalibrated folding machine and inadequate test ballots. Read Article

New Hampshire: The tangled web of corporations behind an AI robocall  | Derek B. Johnson7CyberScoop

An investigation into the origin of AI-generated robocalls targeting New Hampshire voters implicates Walter Monk and his Texas-based company, Life Corporation, in the scheme. Monk's network of companies, specializing in political marketing and fundraising services, has raised concerns about the potential for AI technology to spread disinformation, particularly in upcoming elections. Monk's involvement in political marketing firms and a complex corporate structure underscore the challenges authorities face in untangling the operation. While Monk and Life Corporation have not been formally charged, cease-and-desist letters and subpoenas have been issued by state and federal authorities, who are investigating potential violations of election laws. Read Article

New Hampshire authorities trace Biden AI robocall to Texas-based telecom | Derek B. Johnson/CyberScoop

The New Hampshire Attorney General's office has identified Life Corporation, a Texas-based telecommunications firm, and Walter Monk as responsible for AI-generated robocalls featuring the voice of President Joe Biden, urging Democratic voters to abstain from the state's primary. The calls, created using deepfake technology, prompted concerns about election integrity and spurred an investigation involving state and federal authorities. Although Life Corporation and Monk have been implicated, further inquiries are ongoing. The FCC has issued cease-and-desist letters to both Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom, which facilitated the calls, with warnings of potential regulatory consequences. Read Article

New Hampshire robocall kicks off era of AI-enabled election disinformation  | Derek B. Johnson/CyberScoop

Kathy Sullivan, treasurer of a super PAC running a write-in campaign for President Joe Biden in the New Hampshire primary election, experienced what appears to be the first instance of AI-generated audio disinformation targeting American voters. A robocall impersonating Biden flooded New Hampshire voters, urging Democrats not to vote in the primary. The AI-generated call, sounding like Biden, claimed that voting in the primary only enables Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump and emphasized that voters' choices matter in November, not in the primary. The call's phone number appeared to belong to Sullivan, as the caller ID had spoofed her cell number. While the impact on voting behavior remains unclear, the incident highlights the potential use of AI in disinformation campaigns during the 2024 election, posing challenges for election officials to combat emerging threats effectively. Read Article

New Hampshire: Deepfake Audio of Biden Alarms Election Security Experts | Margi Murphy/Bloomberg

Disinformation experts are expressing concern over a doctored audio message of U.S. President Joe Biden circulating, urging voters in New Hampshire not to cast ballots in the Democratic primary. The manipulated message, featuring a voice edited to sound like Biden, falsely advises saving votes for the November election. Experts are particularly worried about audio deepfakes due to their ease of editing, affordability, and difficulty to trace. With the upcoming elections, there are fears that these fake audio messages, especially when combined with voter registration databases, could be potent tools to influence political outcomes. The incident confirms concerns that deepfakes might not only manipulate public opinion but also deter voters from participating. Read Article

New Hampshire’s aging ballot scanners pose challenges. Problems could prompt conspiracy theories | Christina A. Cassidy/Associated Press

All New Hampshire voters mark their ballot by hand, but how those ballots are counted depends on the city or town. Just under half opt to hand count and have done so for years, but those are among the least populated in the state. The most populous towns and cities use machine tabulators, so most ballots cast in the state are counted electronically using the AccuVote scanners. The same type of ballot scanners are used by local voting jurisdictions in five other states, according to Verified Voting, a nonpartisan group that tracks U.S. voting equipment. “You could say it’s primitive technology. You could say it’s simple and reliable technology. Both of those things can be true,” said Mark Lindeman, the group’s policy and strategy director. He said New Hampshire’s tabulators have been kept in good condition and that the biggest challenge for election officials is finding replacement parts. He sees the worst-case scenario as local election officials having to resort to hand counting because a tabulator has failed and they don’t have access to a backup. “As worst cases go, that’s a pretty good one,” Lindeman said. “The ballots are safe. This will not prevent New Hampshire voters from voting or prevent New Hampshire voters from having their votes counted.” Read Article

New Hampshire: Bracing for a wave of write-ins and other potential curveballs, poll workers prep for Primary Day 2024 | Olivia Richardson and Todd Bookman/New Hampshire Public Radio

New Hampshire election officials are expanding their pool of poll workers, anticipating a heavier workload due to an increase in write-in votes on the Democratic side and the implementation of a new voter ID law. There are concerns about potential complications surrounding the state's new affidavit ballot law and challenges in interpreting messy handwriting or misspellings on write-in votes. Election officials are emphasizing the need for patience at the polls and preparing for uncertainties, including the potential delay in counting due to increased scrutiny and unknown factors affecting voter turnout and ballot processing. Read Article

New Hampshire: New Dominion voting machines may not be widely available for 2024 election | Amanda Gokee/The Boston Globe

New Hampshire’s aging AccuVote voting machines need to be replaced, but an updated voting machine from Dominion might not be ready for the 2024 election in November. Secretary of State David Scanlan said when the ImageCast devices were conditionally approved, the New Hampshire vendor that services the machines, LHS Associates, said they believed they would be ready in time for the election, as did VotingWorks, a second voting machine company that received approval. Both machines have to undergo state and federal testing before receiving full approval. The testing of VotingWorks machines is on schedule, according to Scanlan, who anticipates three to four machines will be in place in 2024. But during a December meeting of the Ballot Law Commission, the president of LHS Associates Jeff Silvestro said Dominion might not be able to complete all of the testing required by the state of New Hampshire in time. Read Article

New Hampshire voting machine vendor: New machines may not be deployed in 2024 | Kevin Landrigan/Union Leader

The president of LHS Associates, the company that services New Hampshire's voting machines, stated that the next generation of new voting machines by Dominion Voting Systems may not meet state testing requirements in time for the 2024 general election. The existing Accuvote machines have been in use for three decades and were last manufactured in 2008, with officials scrambling to find replacement parts. Dominion's ImageCast optical scanning machines were approved for use by March 1, but the testing plan is still pending. While LHS proposed leasing new machines for cities and towns, Secretary of State David Scanlan opposed the idea, emphasizing fairness to other vendors and the need for a uniform standard. Read Article

New Hampshire: Ahead of Biden write-in effort, towns and cities issue calls for more poll workers | Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin

In preparation for the New Hampshire presidential primary, where President Joe Biden has launched a write-in campaign, cities and larger towns are gearing up for a meticulous hand count due to the absence of Biden's name on the ballot. This write-in effort will require additional poll workers to manually count each Democratic write-in vote. Local organizations and city officials are actively recruiting volunteers, emphasizing the need for more people this time due to the potentially record-breaking number of write-in votes. Larger cities, in particular, are feeling the pressure to find enough volunteers, and efforts are underway to connect with various organizations and individuals to ensure sufficient staffing for the election day tasks, including sorting and counting write-in ballots. Read Article

New Hampshire Supreme Court case about ballot-counting machines draws a crowd | David Brooks/The Concord Monitor

An Auburn man, Daniel Richard, representing himself, has argued before the New Hampshire Supreme Court that ballot-counting machines shouldn't be used at polling places due to a lack of proper legal foundation in the state's constitution. Richard contends that the use of such machines requires approval in the state constitution and wants their use forbidden, along with alterations to state election laws. He claims that all absentee ballots cast in the state since 1979 are "defective." Supporters, including those critical of ballot-counting machines, gathered for the oral arguments, while attorneys for the state and Auburn town dispute Richard's points, noting no evidence of injury due to the machines. Read Article

New Hampshire towns will have two choices for ballot-counting machines – one proprietary, one open-source | David Brooks/Concord Monitor

The state ballot law commission has selected Dominion Voting Systems and VotingWorks, a not-for-profit company that uses open-source software, as the potential replacements for the aging AccuVote ballot-counting machines that have been in use for three decades. The current machines can still be used until the ballot law commission de-certifies them. It will be up to cities and towns to decide when they want to switch, at the cost of about $7,000 per machine, or if they want to revert back to hand-counting ballots on election nights. Read Article

As New Hampshire voting machines age, state weighs alternatives | Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin

Many cities and towns in New Hampshire are using Accuvote machines to count ballots in elections, but the machines are growing old and facing difficulties due to the lack of manufacturing and parts availability. The state is now considering a necessary upgrade to replace the aging machines. Town and city clerks and moderators will gather in Concord for a demonstration of three possible candidates to replace the Accuvote tabulators, and the Ballot Law Commission will decide which machines to approve for future use. While some municipalities are eagerly anticipating the approval of new machines, others are content with their current Accuvote machines but acknowledge the need for an upgrade. The decision will be crucial as the presidential primary election in February 2024 approaches. Read Article