Windham Checklist Supervisors: There is Voter Fraud in NH

Submitted by state Rep. David Bates on behalf Windham Supervisors of the Checklist which includes State Rep. Mary Griffin, left, Bates, and Eileen Mashimo.

Derek Castonguay pled guilty to voter fraud in Salem District Court on Jan. 15, 2016. At the general election in November 2014, while being a resident of Manchester, Castonguay voted in the towns of Salem and Windham using addresses where he previously resided.

The Windham Supervisors of the Checklist detected this blatant election law violation and filed the complaint with the NH Attorney General that led to his conviction. According to the NH Constitution, in addition to his sentence, Castonguay has permanently lost his right to vote in NH as a result of the conviction for violating NH election laws.

Nancy Sullivan of Windham was also caught committing voter fraud in the same election.Windham Supervisors of the Checklist filed a complaint with the NH Attorney General charging that Nancy Sullivan fraudulently obtained an absentee ballot and voted in the name of her son (Avery Galloway) by forging his signature on the absentee ballot request form and on the envelope containing the returned ballot. To avoid criminal prosecution, Sullivan accepted an offer by the Attorney General to settle the case by just paying a fine as a civil penalty for her actions. By paying that fine and signing a consent agreement with the Attorney General, Sullivan avoided the risk of losing her right to vote permanently like Castonguay did.

These two clear cases of voter fraud in one election belie the claim that there is no voter fraud in NH. With this occurring in such an unlikely place as Windham, it makes one wonder where else and how much this happens throughout our state and elsewhere. Those questions cannot be reliably answered until more election officials begin exerting a meaningful effort to check for potential voter fraud.

There is currently no policy in state law requiring election officials to execute procedures designed to check for the kinds of fraud found in Windham. However, the Supervisors of the Checklist in Windham have developed best practices that help prevent and/or uncover various kinds of voter fraud. The Windham Supervisors of the Checklist are some of the most thorough and knowledgeable people in NH holding this office. The Secretaryof State’s office has expressed interest in utilizing the Windham Supervisors to help train election officials in other communities.

The Windham Supervisors expect to be filing additional complaints with the Attorney General regarding a number of individuals seeking to vote at the Presidential Primary in Windham whose eligibility is questionable. All who are qualified are welcome and encouraged to vote, but anyone considering voting in a place where they are not eligible should definitely not attempt to do it in Windham.