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Let the sun shine on election planning

Late Good Friday afternoon, the Secretary of State William Gardner released a memo that said New Hampshire voters with concerns about COVID-19 can request an absentee ballot – declare we are “disabled” – and vote in the primary and presidential elections this fall. Having just witnessed Wisconsin’s election disaster, when absentee ballots failed to perform as intended, I am not reassured.

The voters of New Hampshire need a good plan with a transparent and accountable process. We need public press briefings to start immediately and occur often to help us stay informed about the September and November elections. Must our voters, volunteer poll workers, clerks and moderators become “heroes” to conduct these elections? So far, we have one memo and no plan.

Elections are complicated. We can’t afford a drawn-out, closed-door planning process. The Secretary should spell out a coherent and comprehensive course of action. Local officials need time to vet each pandemic-related change and adapt it to their community. They need time for inter-departmental coordination, training, testing, printing, procurement, education, web changes, and more.

Besides local election officials, the Secretary should tap the expertise of the Election Law Committees of the General Court, where Sen. Melanie Levesque and Rep. David Cote are leading foundation-setting work to reform our elections.

The Federal government included $3.2 million in the CARES stimulus package (with a $654,000 matching grant) to start preparing for the upcoming elections. The funds are accompanied by federal recommendations such as vote by mail, no excuse absentee ballots, and early voting. How is NH planning to spend these monies?

So far there is only silence about these funds – not to mention voter registration (hopefully online) and in person election protocols (the governor floated curbside voting for example).

The pandemic is dynamic and relentless. Conditions can change overnight. Only advance planning, informed by the cumulative expertise of our election officials, and subject to scrutiny by the press and citizens, can ensure New Hampshire voters do not have to choose between their health and their right to vote this fall.

Please reach out to the governor, SOS Gardner, plus your Executive Councilor, legislators and election officials. Ask for immediate and recurring public briefings about the elections, including answering questions, so the voters of New Hampshire can stay safe, informed, and prepared to vote this fall.

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