5,300 Fraudulent Votes May Have Been Cast In NH In 2016

CONCORD, NH — A voting data request from the Speaker of the House to both the Department of Safety and the Secretary of State has revealed that more than 5,000 people who were allowed to vote in the November 2016 general election probably don’t actually live in the state and also never became drivers or registered vehicles in New Hampshire. In mid-August, Speaker Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, requested the statistical information in order to assist representatives so they could assess “the effectiveness of our current election laws as well as future legislation that could improve our voter registration and verification processes.” Jasper pointed to both the Help America Vote Act – for new voters – as well as state law that requires state police to match the voter checklist with driving information to ensure accuracy and validity of voter checklists and registered voters.

On Nov. 8, 2016, 6,540 voters used an out-of-state driver’s license as identification to vote but as of Aug. 30, 2017, only 1,014 of those individuals – 15.5 percent – had been issued a New Hampshire driver’s license, according to the data. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Concord NH Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Of the remaining 5,526 individuals, only 3.3 percent – about 213 people – had a registered motor vehicle.

ALSO READ:

• NH Anti-Vote Fraud Domicile Registration Bill Challenged In Court
• NH Voter Database, Election Integrity Commission Lawsuit Dropped
• Millions Of Rural Obama Voters Abandoned Clinton In 2016: Researchers
• Nearly 95K Voters In NH Registered In Other States: Data
• NH Secretary of State to Serve on Trump’s Vote Fraud Panel
• Investigation of Voter Affidavit Fraud Abandoned by NH AG
• NH AG to Investigate Drive-By Voting: Report
• Project Veritas Action: We Never Heard from Investigators
• Tax Activist: AG’s Investigations Have Been ‘Laughable’
• Project Veritas Vote Fraud Investigator Subpoenaed by NH AG
• Is Former Sanders Field Director Preparing to Sue Vote Fraud Hunter O’Keefe?
• Sanders Staffers Registered to Vote at Campaign Office: Report
• Attorney General Investigating Thousands of NH Voter Affidavits
• Illegal Political Mailers Aim to Depress Ayotte Vote, Promote Indie Challenger
• NH Man Pleads Guilty to Voter Fraud
• Man Arrested for Wrongfully Voting, Unsworn Falsification
• Windham Checklist Supervisors: There is Voter Fraud in NH
• Massachusetts Democrat Pleads Guilty in NH Vote Fraud Case

That would leave 5,313 people who used an out-of-state license to vote but never obtained a new New Hampshire license despite being required to by state law after implying that they were establishing residency or domicile in the state to vote in November.

Of the 5,313 individuals who registered to vote same-day on Election Day, 81 percent – 4,314 people – neither held a New Hampshire driver’s license nor had a registered vehicle in the state ever.

With the exception of the gubernatorial race – where Republican Chris Sununu easily bested Democrat Colin Van Ostern by more than 16,000 votes – Democrats won all the other statewide and Congressional races.

But three races were determined by less than 5,000 votes: Gov. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat, beat incumbent U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte by 1,017 votes – although many have suspected that last minute, illegal campaign mailers pushing votes to independent Aaron Day cost Ayotte the race. Hillary Clinton bested Donald Trump by 2,736, earning the state’s 4 Electoral College votes even though she ultimately lost the presidency. U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter was sent back to Congress after she bested incumbent U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta by a few more than 4,900 votes.

U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster won re-election over Jim Lawrence by more than 15,500 votes.

In a companion letter from both Secretary of State Bill Gardner and Department of Safety Commissioner John Barthelmes to Jasper, they noted that “some unknown number” of the individuals moved out of New Hampshire and it was possible that a few may never have driven in the state or ceased driving in the state. They also noted the biggest problem with attempting to limit voter participation to people who actually live in New Hampshire – a 2015 state Supreme Court decision – Annamarie Gaure vs. state of New Hampshire – which preserved a domicile loophole for voting (despite a federal law that requires residency for federal elections).

The letter noted that the Secretary of State's Office prepared nearly 12,000 30-day letters to voters where they had “credible information” that the voters no longer lived – or never lived – in the address provided. As a result of the mailing, 11,320 voters were removed from the checklists, the letter stated. Neither Gardner nor Barthelmes explained what information led nearly 12,000 voters to be removed from the checklists but the shear number, and the fact that New Hampshire is not a very transient state, shows a lot more than 5,000 fraudulent votes could have been cast in November. The letter also stated that only 622 were either verified as still domiciled in the city or town or remained under review.

The response also informed Jasper of the recent crosscheck program New Hampshire was participating in with 27 other states that led to the discovery of nearly 95,000 duplicate registrations between New Hampshire and other states. He added that 196 names appear to have voted in two or more states.

“We have begun verifying that information with other states, but this process is quite involved,” the letter stated. “We will be working with the Attorney General to determine next steps and to transfer those cases which are appropriate to the Attorney General for investigation.”

Hundreds of other “signed challenged voter affidavits” – voters who had no identification but were allowed to vote – are also being investigated by the state.

New Hampshire Democrats responded to the information later in the day by saying that the thousands of voters could "easily be accounted for by college students and other new Granite Staters who deferred acquiring an in-state license or don't intend to drive in the state." Party chairman Ray Buckley said Jasper's request was "just a rephrasing" of "lies" by Republicans that people were voting illegally in the state.

"Voter fraud accusations are a time-honored New Hampshire Republican tradition, and a tactic they've been using to scare away voters for decades," he alleged. "Republican legislators are searching for data that affirms their 'belief' of voter fraud, which was the only basis for the vote suppression law SB 3 Gov. Sununu signed into law this July. Republicans should have looked for proof before they passed a law to remedy a problem that doesn't exist, not afterward."

A spokesperson from Project Veritas countered that the data showed how easy it was for outside influencers to manipulate close elections. Its undercover journalists, Stephen Gordon from the org noted, "exposed this exact flaw" in February 2016.

“President Trump lost to Hillary Clinton by 2,736 votes and the Hassan-Ayotte contest was even tighter," he noted. "Our video exposed how incredibly easy it is for out-of-staters to vote in New Hampshire and now this voting data request has proven it actually occurred. Be warned: Every election cycle, Veritas will continue to expose voter fraud in New Hampshire and throughout the rest of the country.”