Election 2022: Early Rain Storms Dampen Turnout In New Hampshire Primary

CONCORD, NH — Early and late morning rain, which was heavy, at times, in the central part of the state, dampened voter turnout in some parts of New Hampshire on primary day.

But officials are hoping voting will pick up as voters get out of work later Tuesday before polls close at 7 and 8 p.m. around the state.

Secretary of State David Scanlan predicted 270,000 voters casting ballots, including 149,000 Republicans or undeclared voters taking a GOP ballot.

However, on Good Morning NH with Jack Heath, Scanlan said he expected turnout to be slightly lower than the original prediction — although he was not sure by how much. He came to the lower conclusion after spending some time at polls around the state during the first few hours of voting and seeing how light the turnout was. Scanlan hoped more voters would turnout in the latter hours as residents got off work.

New Hampshire Voter Guides

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In Concord, most polling locations were pretty lonely places with a lack of signage and surrogates promoting campaigns. A spot check of the polls between 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. found only four wards had candidates or campaign supporters standing outside the polls.

Voters in Ward 5 cast ballots at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School for the first time this year. The ward tends to be the second busiest in the capital city. Turnout at around 9:30 a.m. was light, though — 192 votes cast, about 13 percent compared to the September 2020 primary.

Nick Wallner, an election official, said officials were having problems with wet ballots due to the rain. Voters were encouraged to place their coats and umbrellas on a nearby table to keep the ballots dry. Patrice Myers, a Republican state representative candidate redistricted from Ward 3 to Ward 5, was standing outside the polls supporting a slate of GOP candidates, including former Gen. Don Bolduc, a U.S. Senate candidate, and Karen Testerman, a gubernatorial candidate.

“I’ll be out here all day,” she said with a smile, despite the rain pouring down.

At Immaculate Conception Church in Penacook, where Ward 1 voters vote, District 2 Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington took her mom to vote after voting herself in Ward 5 and before heading out to other communities in her district. Turnout was light — 192 votes or about 20 percent of the total for the primary two years ago. She thought she had run a pretty good race, fending off a challenge from Democrat Michael Cryans, a previous councilor who was redistricted into District 2. Warmington had supporters at the polls at Ward 1, 5, and 10.

Turnout was even lighter in Ward 2, The Barn at Bull Meadow, where 110 people had voted by 10:15 a.m., about 13 percent of the turnout in September 2020. At the Beaver Meadow Golf Course, Ward 3, 15 minutes later, turnout was 159 voters or about 19 percent of the returns in 2020.

At Christ the King Parish, Ward 6, 173 voters had cast ballots by 11 a.m. or about 22 percent of the total two years ago.

Sarah Chaffee, an election staffer, was pleased with the numbers, saying they were suitable for the ward at that point in the day.

Over at Ward 7, the Abbot-Downing Elementary School, 294 had voted by 11:15 a.m., about 21 percent.

No campaign workers or volunteers were stumping for candidates at Ward 2, 3, 4, 6, or 7.

Sununu, Morse Stump Together

In Manchester, at the Webster School on Elm Street, dozens of supporters were holding signs and chatting with voters as both Senate President Chuck Morse, a U.S. Senate candidate, and Gov. Chris Sununu, arrived at about the same time to campaign for a spell.

Sununu, who has five Republican challengers, said he expected to win but did not know by how much. He said he would be happy with 60 or 70 percent.

“You have to go out and earn every vote,” he said.

Morse, too, said he expected to win despite trailing Bolduc in most polling. He said the campaign was organized and had knocked on 50,000 doors and made 144,000 phone calls to voters.

“I intend to win,” he said.

Hansel Comes To Concord

At Ward 10 in Concord, the Broken Ground Elementary School, Keene Mayor George Hansel, who is running for the Republican nomination for the 2nd Congressional District, greeted voters.

Hansel said he ran a good campaign and predicted victory for himself, saying U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) would be waking up on Wednesday “to her worst nightmare.”

Around 12:30 p.m., 557 voters had cast ballots in Ward 10, about 36 percent of the turnout in 2020, in what was historically the city’s busiest ward.

Turnout was also around 36 percent of the 2020 primary at the citywide community center in Ward 9, where 287 people had voted by around 1 p.m.

Andrew Georgevits, who is running for state representative, was a lone sign holder at Ward 9, stumping for Hansel and Sununu.

Around the corner, at the Bektash Temple at Ward 8, 351 voters had cast ballots, or about 35 percent of the turnout from 2020.

Ward 4 voters were moved to the Green Street Community Center this year. By 1:30 p.m., 351 voters had cast ballots, or about a third

There were no campaign supporters at Ward 4 or 8.

In some New Hampshire communities, polls close at 7 p.m. In others, they close at 8 p.m. New Hampshire Patch will begin reporting results as they become available.

2022 Campaign Coverage

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• Did Frontrunner Bolduc Flip Flop On 2020 Election Steal?
• Democrats Double Down On Backing For Bob Burns In NH-02 GOP Primary
• Pro-Morse PAC Drops TV Ad Blasting Bolduc's 'Crazy Ideas'
• Sununu: Bolduc A 'Conspiracy Theorist Extremist;' Will Make It Harder For GOP To Win
• How Will Huff Brown's 'Protect Choice' Ad Play In GOP Primary?
• Mass. Democrat Shop Drops Anonymous Mailer Boosting Burns In NH-02 Republican Primary
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• Morse PAC Pushes Fundraising Fight To Forefront In NH GOP Senate Primary
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• Candidates Debate Abortion, 2020 Election In NH-01 GOP Primary Debate
• Hansel Creates Committee For NH-02 Run, Hit With Twitter 'Dirty Trick'
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