Getting to know the candidates through their Citizens Count survey responses

Each election year Citizens Count sends an issue survey to every candidate for state and federal office in New Hampshire. They make every attempt to contact candidates by snail-mail, email and phone. Candidate survey responses are the primary source for issue positions shown on the Citizens Count website citizenscount.org. If a candidate does not respond to the Citizens Count survey, staff will search for candidate issue positions published in newspapers, posted on Facebook, etc.

The issues included in the survey are selected based on input from the online community, consultation with experts, and a review of legislation and candidate platforms. The list below shows questions included on the 2024 survey sent to candidates for state representative, state senator, and governor.

STATE SURVEY

Broad-based sales tax

Should NH add a broad-based sales tax?

Broad-based income tax

Should NH add an income tax on earned income?

Business tax decrease

Should New Hampshire lower business taxes?

Capital gains tax

Should New Hampshire add a tax on capital gains?

Minimum wage increase

Should New Hampshire raise the minimum wage?

Encourage local zoning changes for housing development

Should the state do more to encourage municipalities to remove zoning barriers to housing development?

Increase funding for child care providers

Should the state increase funding for child care providers?

Majority of public school funding through local property taxes

Do you support New Hampshire’s current system of public school funding, with about two-thirds of total funding coming from local property taxes?

"Education Freedom Account" program

Do you support the “Education Freedom Account” program, which gives students access to the per-pupil share of state school funding to spend on private school or home school expenses?

Marijuana legalization with home-growing, no sales

Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by allowing home-growing and private use without sales?

Marijuana legalization with private sales

Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by licensing growers and private retail locations?

Marijuana legalization with state-run stores

Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by establishing state-run cannabis stores?

Repeal ban on abortion after 24 weeks

Should New Hampshire repeal the ban on abortion after 24 weeks gestation?

Guarantee right to abortion before 24 weeks

Should New Hampshire guarantee the right to access abortion before 24 weeks?

Ban abortion during 2nd trimester

Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the second trimester (e.g. after 15 weeks gestation)?

Ban abortion during 1st trimester

Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the first trimester (e.g. after 6 weeks gestation)?

Protection for interstate travel related to gender, abortion

Should New Hampshire add legal protections for residents of other states who travel here for health care related to abortion or gender transition?

Stricter gun laws

Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?

Require local immigration enforcement

Should NH require local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement?

Climate change action

Should New Hampshire government do more to address climate change?

Expand net metering opportunities

Do you support legislation to expand the net energy metering system capacity cap from 1 MW to 5 MW for all residential and commercial customers in New Hampshire?

Conditional, affidavit ballots for new voters

Do you support giving voters who register without ID on Election Day a ballot that only counts if they return identifying documents to the state before a deadline?

FEDERAL SURVEY

Presidential action to bar asylum-seekers from U.S.

Do you support presidential action to bar asylum-seekers from staying in the United States before their court date?

Congressional action to limit asylum-seekers

Do you support a law that would allow U.S. officials to turn away migrants seeking asylum when the number of border crossings exceeds a certain number?

Abolish I.C.E.

Do you support abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and redistributing its duties?

Limit aid to Israel

Should military aid to Israel include a requirement that Israel take certain actions to reduce civilian casualties?

Military aid to Ukraine

Should the U.S. government continue to provide military aid to Ukraine (without putting U.S. soldiers on the ground)?

Increase military aid to Taiwan

Do you support increasing military aid to Taiwan?

"Military-style" firearms ban

Should the federal government ban certain "military-style" firearms, such as the AR-15?

More federal enforcement of retail crime

Do you support increasing federal enforcement of organized retail crime?

Marijuana legalization across U.S.

Should the government legalize marijuana at the federal level?

Revise Section 230

Should Congress revise Section 230, a federal law that shields social media companies from lawsuits over content that appears on their platforms?

Extend Trump tax act

Do you support extending the Trump-backed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) past 2025?

Expanded child tax credit

Do you support an expanded child tax credit that sends monthly payments to middle and low income families?

Support further Fed interest rate hikes

Should the federal government combat inflation by supporting further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes?

Decrease tariffs on imports

Should the federal government combat inflation by decreasing tariffs on imports from foreign countries?

Cap prices increases by large businesses

Should the federal government combat inflation by capping price increases by large businesses?

Budget cuts to match new spending

Should the federal government combat inflation by requiring budget cuts to match any new federal spending?

Raise taxes to reduce budget deficit

Should the federal government combat inflation by raising taxes to reduce the budget deficit?

Revise Jones Act

Should the federal government combat inflation by repealing or revising the Jones Act to allow more foreign involvement in shipping between U.S. ports?

Raise Social Security retirement age

Should the federal government reform Social Security by raising the retirement age from today's age of 67?

Means testing for Social Security

Should the federal government reform Social Security by requiring means testing?

Raise income cap for Social Security tax

Should the federal government reform social security by raising the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax?

Privatize Social Security

Should the federal government privatize some or all of Social Security?

Federal abortion ban

Should the federal government ban some abortions?

Federal right to abortion before 24 weeks

Should the federal government pass a law guaranteeing the right to choose abortion before fetal viability (generally 24 weeks gestation)?

Exclude transgender women from sports

Do you support revising Title IX to limit participation in female sports based on an individual's reproductive biology and genetics at birth?

Medicare for All, opt-in

Should the federal government amend the Affordable Care Act/"Obamacare" by allowing citizens to opt into Medicare if they so choose?

Medicare for All, automatic enrollment

Should the federal government amend the Affordable Care Act/"Obamacare" by automatically enrolling every citizen in Medicare, replacing most private insurance?

Increase oil and natural gas leases on public land

Do you support increasing oil and natural gas leases on publicly owned land and water?

Tax carbon emissions

Should the federal government tax carbon emissions?

Electric vehicle mandate for automakers

Do you support a federal rule that would oblige automakers to make 50% or more of the vehicles they sell electric?

Add U.S. term limits

Do you support a constitutional amendment limiting terms for U.S. representatives and senators?

Abolish federal departments

Do you support abolishing any federal agencies or departments?