Politics & Government
2022 Primary Election Results Questioned, Corrected In Windham
Town Clerk: Changes between sets of numbers occurred due to reviewing checklists, tally sheets, write-in votes, and other information.
WINDHAM, NH — Questions about unofficial results posted on Twitter by a former town official were quickly clarified by the town clerk on Tuesday.
On Monday, Bruce Breton, a former selectman in Windham and Republican activist, posted a copy of unofficial results from the Sept. 13 primary ballot wondering how U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) received more votes than ballots cast. He tagged former Gen. Don Bolduc, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, in the tweet.
The results showed 673 ballots cast, but Hassan received 675 votes. Two other candidates received 31 votes combined, and there were eight write-ins. Breton and others noted U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) received 685 votes while there were six write-ins.
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Returns sent to Patch around 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 14 did not include the total number of ballots cast but showed Hassan with 676 votes.
On Tuesday, the town clerk’s office provided an updated official vote tally showing 673 ballots cast and 51 absentee ballots cast for a total of 724 ballots cast. The absentee ballot total was not marked on the first two versions of the unofficial results.
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Town Clerk Nicole Merrill issued a statement addressing “some concern” about the difference between the preliminary results and the official results for the primary election.
“Any changes between the two sets of numbers can be accounted for by the continuation of the reconciliation process, which involves the review of the marked checklist, hand tally sheets, write-in tally sheets, new voter registration, and checking the absentee ballot report along with various supporting spreadsheets,” she said. “The reconciliation process is a common, complex process that is performed not only in Windham, but all New Hampshire communities.”
Ballots, Merrill said, were sealed and secured in boxes on primary night and escorted by police to a secure holding facility.
All eyes are on Windham, which was involved in two recounts on Tuesday, after the debacle of folding ballot issues in 2020.
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