Voter turnout strong in Laconia, Meredith as voters focus on economy

LACONIA — Polling stations across the Lakes Region saw a healthy turnout for the midterm elections Tuesday. At the community center in Meredith, over 2,000 ballots had been cast by noon, 1,550 of them in person. Despite the large crowd, most voters reported their experience as a swift and efficient process.

The top concerns among voters included the economy, energy prices and social divisions. Disinformation, dark money in politics, and partisan divisions were also on some voters' minds.

Almost every country on the planet is experiencing high inflation and skyrocketing energy costs. In June, U.S. inflation hit a 40-year high of over 9%, and currently sits within the 8% range. While other countries across the globe are suffering even worse rates, changes within the U.S. have hit citizens incredibly hard.

“The cost of groceries has nearly tripled for me, the cost of fuel, gas for the cars, heating the homes, inflation has cost us a fortune just in our retirement,” said Kathleen Krom after casting her ballot in Laconia’s Ward 3. “It’s ridiculous. Those need to be fixed.”

“Inflation is nuts in this country,” said Peter Bissonnette, who voted in Laconia's Ward 4. His wife, Beth, reflected this sentiment.

“For me it’s the economy, crime and abortion,” she said.

Although the Bissonettes said they haven’t been personally affected by crime, the rise of petty thefts in Laconia raised their concerns.

“The economy would probably be No. 1 on my list,” said voter Cynthia Cote, and her husband, Richard, agreed. The Cotes voted in Laconia Ward 1.

Laconia Ward 4 voter Donna Lemay stated her concern was a lack of candidates. “There’s not enough people running for certain things, like governor,” Lemay said. Lemay added that her voting experience this year was easy, but believed the country had “gone to hell.”

“[Donald] Trump, he had this country doing pretty damn good,” Lemay said. “No one can afford to leave their house.”

The midterms come during a divided time in American history.

“There was a time when people said, 'Oh, you won? OK, see you in four years,’ that’s it,” Richard Cote said. 

Moving outside of the right-left binary, voters like Chris Wood of Laconia, voting in Ward 4, expressed overall dissatisfaction with candidates not delivering on promises.

My concern is "how they’re going to do when they get voted in,” said Wood, who expressed a longing for Reagan-era Republicanism, and a frustration with politicians serving themselves before their constituents. “It’s our country, and my Constitution started as ‘we the people,’ and I believe that. We put you in office the way we want you to run it. Our way, not your way.”

Krom expressed anger with money used to influence elections on both sides of the aisle.

“Money seems to be influencing elections more than it has in the past,” Kathleen Krom said. “How much money went into making Don Bolduc the candidate against [Maggie] Hassan?”

Sen. Chuck Schumer’s political action committee spent more than $3 million on attack ads against Republican pick Chuck Morse in the U.S. Senate primary in New Hampshire, under the belief that Bolduc would be a weaker candidate against incumbent Democratic Sen. Hassan due to his lack of experience.

“It doesn’t matter which side it is,” Krom said. “I have an issue with that money being used to influence who becomes the candidate. That’s wrong.”

“I think [democracy] is fine,” Peter Bissonnette said. “I think people have taken this to the nth-degree of telling you that ‘democracy is going to end.’ It hasn’t ended in 200 years, I don’t think it’s going to end on this one either.”

“I think [democracy] is fragile,” said Fran Carleton voting in Meredith, who cited women’s rights as her key issue at the polls this year.

Regardless of the facts, many voters, especially on the right, no longer trust the voting system. For some, engaging in the process is key to maintaining it. 

“I feel like democracy is one of those things where if you don’t get involved, it’s not going to work,” said Caitlin Murphy, a voter in Laconia Ward 1. “The power is really in our own hands in the state of democracy. If we want to keep whatever’s been going, we have to participate in it.”

Younger voters like Murphy, who said she was in her 30s, are a relatively uncommon sight at polling locations across the country. In the 2020 election, 76% of people ages 65 to 74 voted, compared with just 51% of people aged 18-24. 

“I feel like the midterms are pretty significant and just as important as the presidential, which I think gets overlooked by a lot of people in my age bracket,” Murphy said. “I feel like a lot of us just struggle with balancing daily life and getting out to do things like this, and a lot of people don’t know that you can vote earlier with absentee ballots.”

Another factor on voters' minds was the increased divide between Republicans and Democrats, as well as growing polarization and a complete lack of compromise.

“There’s too much divisiveness,” said Richard Cote. “That’s really a concern to us. I mean, people should at least agree to disagree and leave it at that. But to be vindictive and name calling, there’s no need for that.”

“We should get rid of a few people publicly, I mean out of the public view,” said voter Stephen Carleton in Laconia Ward 1, when asked how the country could address extreme division. “There’s one candidate that I think really hurt this country: [Donald] Trump. He’s a cancer in this country and hopefully he won’t be associated with the Republican nomination. If he is, this country’s in real bad shape.”

Voter Cynthia Cote expressed hope for the future, despite the current state of affairs. 

“We just need to wake up and be nice to each other,” Cote said. “Regardless of your beliefs, philosophy, whatever it is, we just need to treat each other nicely.”