Letter: No evidence of voter fraud in NH

Republicans are again claiming voter fraud as a reason to suppress voting in New Hampshire. House Bill 86 would eliminate same-day voter registration at the polls, making it more difficult for new voters to register.

We, the undersigned, have experience with more than 15 election cycles in New Hampshire as candidates and election officers and have never seen voter fraud. These elections include four presidential election cycles, which have involved 12 towns in central New Hampshire.

We know that throughout New Hampshire, our fellow citizens – Republican, Democrat and independent – who serve as moderators, election officers, and ballot clerks take their responsibilities seriously and would recognize and report fraud if it ever occurred. These fraud claims are an attack on their integrity.

In testimony at the Jan. 22 hearing on HB 86, co-sponsor Rep. Max Abramson claimed a history of out-of-state voters voting in New Hampshire. He stated that he has “been given estimates of 20,000 to 30,000 votes a year for presidential elections” and has “spoken with other state Republican parties that have warned us that people are driving for more than four hours to New Hampshire to come here and vote in our presidential elections.”

He provided no evidence at the hearing and took no questions. If he and other Republicans have evidence to back up their claims, let’s see it. If they have no proof, then these false claims should stop.

It is time for us all to demand truth and integrity from our elected officials.

(The letter is signed by Richard Snow and Tom St. Martin, both of Candia; Avis Rosenfield, Carol Levesque, Maureen Mann, Rebecca Hutchison, Richard Boisvert, and Wes Golomb, all of Deerfield; David Coursin and Tom Chase, both of Northwood; Bonnie Winona MacKinnon, Chris Roundy, and Hal Rafter, all of Nottingham.)