Laconia seeks new election moderator for Ward 6

LACONIA — The city has less than a month to find a new Ward 6 moderator before the upcoming primary election on Sept. 13, after a state Attorney General’s office report of irregularities in Ward 6 during multiple elections caused the resignation of Ward 6 moderator and City Councilor Tony Felch. 

In an Aug. 16 press release, an investigation by the AG’s office concluded that 179 ballots were cast but uncounted, and that dozens of write-in ballots were double counted in the 2020 election. Felch did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding this matter. 

Rep. Richard Littlefield called for Felch to also step down from his position on the city council to make amends with residents in a letter written to The Daily Sun.

“Mr. Felch had been working elections in Ward 6 for quite some time, and it just so happens that he was on the ballot in 2020,” Littlefield wrote. “This whole situation is far from what can be accepted by representatives and the voters of Laconia.”

The investigation found no intentional mishandling or miscounting, and concluded that the situation was a result of Felch’s “complete failure to understand the duties and operations of elections and his role as the moderator,” according to the press release. 

In a letter to Felch, Attorney General John M. Formella wrote, “even though your actions were unintentional, they show extraordinary carelessness. Due to these two serious breaches of duty to carefully and accurately administer elections, you are hereby directed to resign your position as Ward 6 moderator.” 

After the 2020 election, 179 ballots were recovered from the “side ballot box” compartment. These ballots were cast by voters, but failed to be counted by Ward 6 election officials. This discovery is what sparked the initial investigation. During the investigation, the AG’s office found somewhere between 38 and 54 write-in ballots were accidentally double counted, resulting in approximately 500 double votes across all races.

Although the investigation concluded that the double counting and failure to count were acts of incompetence and not malice, the news comes amid other reports and accusations of election fraud nationwide, and Americans are distrustful of election systems.

“I think the biggest thing that people can take comfort in, is knowing there’s going be a whole lot of oversight in this election from our office,” said Michael Garrity, the AG’s director of communications. 

“The attorney general’s office will also be involved via the poll inspector program where members of this office go to polling places on election day,” said Deputy Attorney General Myles Matteson. "Given what has happened in Ward 6, our office would anticipate having a poll inspector or more on site at Ward 6 in order to provide that support, that would not be unique to Ward 6, but we would know we have an inspector there for the primary.”

“I’m looking forward to there being a moderator at the Ward 6 location from the AG’s office,” said Laconia City Clerk Katie Gargano, "I just wanted to make sure it’s not going to be someone who just sits and watches, it's going to be someone who will interact with the election officials.”

Felch resigned Tuesday, leaving the city little time to find a new moderator in time for election season.

“It’s relatively recent news, so we’re seeking someone and doing some outreach knowing we have an election coming up in a little under a month,” said City Manager Scott Meyers. "We will have it staffed and we will be in good shape for the primary on the 13th.”

“We’re going to have to find someone new and the likelihood of someone new having election experience is very slim,” Gargano said. “The good thing about having the [AG] monitor there is they can provide pointers and tips.”

Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer echoed Meyers' confidence in filling the role.

“Obviously time is tight to find another moderator, but I'm confident we’ll be able to find an interim moderator before the primaries in September,” Hosmer said.

“Every vote matters. It always has. We need to continue to take steps to make sure voters have confidence that when they vote that it is a secret ballot and that their vote is counted.”

Even if the city is unable to fill the tall order of finding a replacement for Felch, Gargano stated she is confident that the AG’s office will provide support for the primary.

“If I don’t find a moderator and need additional staff, [the AG’s office] will assist me as well,” Gargano said. “They will be there to fully support me.”

“In the future it’s definitely a training thing,” said Gargano, who became city clerk in March of this year, well after the 2020 election. “The state provides us with numerous resources to navigate, whether it be help lines, an election procedure manual, a law book, in-person training, webinars, and just networking. That’s something I hope to bring to Laconia to make it as transparent as possible.”