2018 Elections

There are nearly 60 election-related bills in the New Hampshire legislature this session, many of which reflect national conversations around election issues.  The Exchange discussed redistricting and voting technology with Casey McDermott, NHPR's reporter covering politics and policy, and Jessica Huseman, election reporter from Politico.  

Newly empowered Democrats are hoping to reverse two recent changes to New Hampshire's election laws before either fully takes effect.

Lawmakers new and old new swarmed the New Hampshire State House Tuesday for orientation.

For those new to the State House, orientation week is a time to get one's bearings.

"I want a day up here when there are no committees so I can walk around, and say, 'Oh this is here, and that's there.'"

For those not so new to Concord, this week is a time to adjust to new realities.

A recount last week affirmed that Democrat Jon Morgan of Brentwood beat incumbent Republican Bill Gannon of Sandown by 105 votes out of the almost 26,000 cast in the race for New Hampshire Senate District 23.

Gannon and other Republicans had questioned  whether the Democrat met the seven-year residency requirement laid out in the state constitution.

When there is national news about recounts—ahem, Florida—New Hampshire tends to see an increase in such requests. In 2000, the year of Florida's hanging chads, the Granite State had 28. This year, there are 20.

And Secretary of State Bill Gardner says that’s a typical number after an election, and

the state’s paper ballots are recounted by hand.

The final weeks of last week’s midterm campaign saw a flurry of partisan activity: Last-minute Facebook ads touting Gov. Chris Sununu’s plan for paid family and medical leave. Fliers criticizing Republican lawmakers “who cozy up to big corporations and special interests.” Phone banks backed by a group called "Families First," encouraging voters to support Democrats on Election Day.

State attorneys fielded 185 calls to their Election Day hotline this week — ranging from traffic complaints to registration questions to problems with voting equipment — but most complaints were resolved without the need for any formal investigation.

Increases in voter turnout were particularly high Tuesday in areas around New Hampshire's college campuses.

More than 50 percent more ballots were cast this year in Durham, as well as in Keene's first ward, as compared to the last midterm election in 2014.

Those precincts are home to the University of New Hampshire and Keene State College, respectively. 

Overall, turnout was up about 17 percent statewide.

[Midterms: Complete New Hampshire election results]

Last session, in a body of 400, there were just 23 state representatives under the age of 35.

But Democrats and Republicans who pay attention to the demographics of the State House say the next legislative session will see a boost in younger folks, including 42 representatives under the age of 40.

Next year, Republican Governor Chris Sununu will be working with a Democratic majority in the legislature and on the Executive Council. 

The last time the five-member council was majority Democrat was in 2014.

The Council reviews the Governor's hiring decisions and approves state contracts.

Historically, it has been seen as non-partisan, but in recent years it has become more political - with fights over Planned Parenthood, light rail, and staffing appointments.

In about half of New Hampshire polling places, votes are still tallied up by hand. And that was the case in Bethlehem until Tuesday night — when a new ballot counting device made its debut, thanks to a community fundraising campaign.

Tuesday's election results handed Democrats control of both chambers of the New Hampshire Legislature for the first time in nearly a decade. With Republican Gov. Chris Sununu winning a second term, the stage is set for divided government in Concord for the next two years.

In the Senate, Democrats overcame an unfavorable map to flip several Republican-held seats and take a 14-10 majority.

New Hampshire’s senior U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen says she’s hoping for more bipartisanship in Congress, with a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.

Shaheen was at an event in Portsmouth Wednesday and spoke to NHPR about the mixed midterm results.

While Democrats took back the House of Representatives, Republicans expanded their majority in the Senate. Shaheen says it's a call for all of Congress to work across the aisle.

New Hampshire’s Libertarian Party on Tuesday failed to earn enough votes to stay on the ballot in 2020.

In the governor’s race, candidate Jilletta Jarvis needed at least 4 percent of the vote to maintain the Libertarian’s major party status.

She won just 1.4 percent.

“I’m disappointed, obviously,” said Caleb Dyer, the party’s secretary. “I think we could have done better, and I think we should have."

Dyer lost his own seat in the New Hampshire House Tuesday. He ran as a Libertarian this year, instead of a Republican as he had in 2016.

Former New Hampshire Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn has lost his reelection bid in the North Country.

The Whitefield Democrat was arrested in August on several domestic-assault-related charges. State Democratic leaders urged Woodburn to drop out of the race at the time, but he remained on the ballot, fighting off a write-in challenge in the Democratic primary.

Woodburn was first elected to the District One Senate seat in 2012. Republican David Starr of Franconia will now hold that seat.

Democrat Chris Pappas beat Republican Eddie Edwards Tuesday in the race for New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District. The candidates were vying for the seat vacated by Democrat Carol Shea Porter.

Pappas' victory came after a hard-fought battle that began with two bitter primary campaigns and a general election that kept voters on edge until late on election night.

Governor Chris Sununu won second term in Concord on Tuesday. He beat Democrat Molly Kelly by racking up votes in GOP towns and holding steady or better in the state’s two largest cities.

But Sununu will now have to work with a state legislature and executive council under Democratic control.

Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster cruised to a reelection victory Tuesday. Kuster won her fourth term in office in New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional District, beating Republican Steve Negron.

“Tonight the people of New Hampshire’s second congressional district sent a message loud and clear: they want a Granite State and they want a country where no one is left behind," Kuster told supporters at her headquarters in Concord.

Negron, in conceding the race, noted his appreciation for the respectful tone of the contest.

New Hampshire voters have approved two changes to the state constitution Tuesday. The first amendment gives individual taxpayers the legal standing necessary to bring a lawsuit against the government if they believe public funds are being misused.

Click here to read the full text of both ballot questions.

Some town and city clerks in New Hampshire are expecting big voter turnouts today because of the higher-than-average numbers of absentee ballots they've received.

They say the numbers are above what they usually see for midterm elections, and a bit below what they see during presidential elections, which is usually between 60 to 70 percent.

In Manchester, City Clerk Matthew Normand says absentee ballot numbers are the highest for a midterm in at least 35 years, if not ever.