Scanlan Shrugs Off News Of DOJ Election Observers: 'We Do A Good Job'

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan told NHJournal Thursday he’s not concerned about election observers from the federal Department of Justice to observe the Sept. 8 primaries.

“Our elections are open to observation by anyone, including federal agencies,” Scanlan said. “When it comes to elections, New Hampshire does a good job.”

On Wednesday, New Hampshire Journal reported that Harmeet K. Dhillon, who heads the DOJ’s civil rights division, announced federal election observers were headed to 15 communities in six states to oversee their upcoming primaries: Arizona, Michigan, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Virginia.

In New Hampshire, the observers will be in Manchester and Nashua, the state’s two largest cities. In Massachusetts, the DOJ is targeting Boston and New Bedford.

New Hampshire is the only state in the group with a GOP-controlled state government. However, the Granite State did go to court to prevent the Trump administration from obtaining an unredacted copy of the state’s voter file. The federal government said it needed the data to check New Hampshire’s compliance with federal election laws, including the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960.

Scanlan refused to provide the unredacted file, saying New Hampshire law limits the release of the statewide voter database. The fight landed in federal court, where a judge ruled in New Hampshire’s favor.

New Hampshire would appear to be an odd target for election observation. In 2024, the state had the nation’s fourth-highest voter participation rate (based on voting-eligible population) and consistently ranks near the top of the list. Reports of election irregularities are rare, and the state recently tightened its proof-of-citizenship requirements.

As a result, speculation has begun in the state’s political circles that sending DOJ officials to the state’s two largest cities may have nothing to do with election integrity. Instead, it could be part of a Trump administration plan to obtain the voter data they want.

Asked about the speculation, Scanlan simply replied, “The monitors are going to want to scrutinize information, I’m sure.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.