(The Center Square) – New Hampshire’s elections are well-run, the results are accurate and there is no evidence of widespread fraud, according to a new report.
The report by the Special Committee on Voter Confidence outlined the findings of a yearlong fact-finding mission by the panel, which concluded that the state’s election system “works as is intended” and “deserves the support and confidence” of the state’s voters.
“As in any human enterprise, it is not perfect and mistakes occur, but as administered by our fellow citizens on the local level, it is well-run, consistently produces the results elections are designed to produce – election of those receiving the most votes or passage of those measures favored by the majority of voters,” the report’s authors wrote.
Instances of voter fraud are “rare and isolated,” and promptly investigated by state and local election officials, according to the report.
“Checks and balances are in place to deter and prevent such occurrences, and processes exist to investigate and correct errors when they occur,” they wrote.
But the panelists, who included Democrats and Republicans, voting integrity advocates and former state election officials, also suggested that the state’s election laws should routinely be updated to ensure transparency and improve voter accessibility and confidence.
“Our election system needs to be adjusted as new issues arise or new methods become available if they are consistent with our time-tested tradition of voting,” they wrote. “Leaders are strongly encouraged to operate in good faith to reinforce public confidence in the New Hampshire election system.”
The panel, created by the AG’s office shortly after the 2020 elections, was tasked with identifying the “root causes of voter confidence decline” and making recommendations to “reverse the trend” by conducting “listening sessions” with voters on how the state might improve transparency in the election process.
The report said the panel heard testimony from a number of witnesses who “raised issues of specific violations of laws or procedures” during the listening sessions, but pointed out that it didn’t have the “capacity or authority to conduct investigations” and urged those who raised them to bring them to the AG’s office for review.
Election integrity has been an issue in New Hampshire since the 2016 presidential election, when then-Republican candidate Donald Trump claimed that busloads of Massachusetts Democrats were brought into the state to vote against him.
Trump reiterated the allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 elections, which he ultimately lost.
Those claims were discredited by then New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, a Democrat, who said there was no evidence of voter fraud in the 2016 elections.
Despite that, Republican lawmakers cited a lack of confidence among the public about the integrity of elections as they pushed through a new law creating a specific kind of “affidavit ballot” for New Hampshire voters who don’t have the required identification. Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, signed the legislation.
The law is now facing legal challenges from voting rights groups and Democrats who argue it will suppress voting, and is unnecessary because there is no evidence of voter fraud.
A recent poll showed New Hampshire voters are increasingly confident regarding the integrity of the state’s electoral system ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
