SB489 increases number of election audits, boosts voter confidence

District 6 Senator James Gray (Rochester Voice file photo)

To the Editor:

Now more than ever, transparency, accountability, and integrity are critical for the success of the election process. This year, I worked hard with my fellow Senate Republicans to increase voter confidence in New Hampshire elections. We passed several bills to strengthen our election laws and defeated numerous bills that would have made our elections less secure.

Transparency is vital for maintaining our election process. That is why I am pleased that we passed my legislation, SB489, to increase the number of election audits, improve the integrity of our elections, and boost voters' confidence in the results.

New Hampshire has consistently been among the highest voter turnout states in the nation, and while we want to encourage high voter turnout, we must also discourage voter fraud.

As Chairman of the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee, I am proud to have supported the passage of legislation that increases regular maintenance of voter checklists and implements real voter verification to ensure real-time confirmation of people's identities. Having multiple ways to verify a voter increases election integrity and ensures non-U.S. citizens do not vote in our elections. No eligible voter will be prevented from voting in New Hampshire. We need to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.

I am also proud to cosponsor CACR22, a constitutional amendment to ensure that New Hampshire remains the First in the Nation Primary State. This great tradition has come under attack and Senate Republicans will never stop defending it.

New Hampshire is the gold standard for elections and election integrity, and I will keep working to ensure it stays that way.

- Senator James Gray,
Rochester