New Hampshire

Snapshot: New Hampshire receives poor scores for ease of voting and ballot security, but its elected officials receive a good score for their response to claims about the 2020 election.

Ease of Voting

Few measures to expand access
2 out of 7 benchmarks

Ballot Security

Some measures to ensure accuracy and security
3 out of 8 benchmarks

What Politicians Say

Few responses that undermined the 2020 election
3 out of 4 benchmarks

It is one of four states that do not have any early voting option open to all voters, either in person or by mail.

That list could soon grow shorter, as Connecticut voters are being asked to approve a ballot measure that would allow in-person early voting in November.

But although New Hampshire allowed no-excuse mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic, Republican Governor Chris Sununu vetoed a 2020 effort to make it permanent.

Sununu has signed a number of smaller elections laws, and Secretary of State David Scanlan created an eight-member bipartisan commission to make recommendations on how to improve voter confidence.


Ease of Voting

Is the state making it easy for eligible voters to register and cast a ballot?
Met 0 out of 0 benchmarks
How New Hampshire compares to other states
New Hampshire
Other states
← Easier to vote
Harder →
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Number of total benchmarks met

A 2021 law required that mail-in ballot applications make clear that voters who are in jail due to a misdemeanor or while awaiting trial can vote by mail.


Ballot Security

Is the state following best practices to ensure ballot counting is accurate and timely?
Met 0 out of 0 benchmarks
How New Hampshire compares to other states
New Hampshire
Other states
← More secure
Less secure →
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Number of total benchmarks met

Other laws passed in 2021 require the secretary of state to help local elections administrators remove dead voters from the rolls and require voters who register on Election Day without photo ID to have their picture taken.


How Politicians Responded to the 2020 Election

What did the state do in the aftermath of Trump's defeat?
Met 0 out of 0 benchmarks
How New Hampshire compares to other states
New Hampshire
Other states
← Fewer efforts to undermine 2020 election
More →
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Number of total benchmarks met

Sununu and the state’s top Democrats all say that Biden’s election was fairly won.


Read the full methodology
Story by: Ryan Teague Beckwith and Bill Allison
Graphics by: Paul Murray, Allison McCartney and Mira Rojanasakul
With assistance by: Rachael Dottle, Marie Patino, Jenny Zhang, Gregory Korte, Romy Varghese, Vincent Del Giudice, Nathan Crooks, Margaret Newkirk, Shruti Date Singh, David Welch, Elise Young, Dina Bass, Brendan Walsh, Carey Goldberg and Maria Wood
Editors: Wendy Benjaminson, Wes Kosova, Alex Tribou and Yue Qiu
Photo editors: Eugene Reznik, Marisa Gertz and Maria Wood
Photo credits: Getty Images, Bloomberg and AP Photo