Rep. Richard Littlefield: Preserving election integrity for the next generation

Election integrity is extremely important if we as residents and voters are going to save our constitutional republic for the next generation and then some.

Some believe that election integrity involves letting people vote who are not legal citizens.

Some believe that those voting should be doing so showing an identification, and at the very least those registering with zero information should have to prove who they are and where they live before having their vote counted.

I think that one thing all voters can agree on is the fact that elections need to be accurate so voters are not disenfranchised.

Windham, Bedford, and Laconia's Ward 6 have all been assigned temporary election monitors who will be replacing moderators who acted outside of the best interest of our voters, and state elections.

In Windham ballots were folded by election officials causing misread ballots and votes were shifted to candidates that had not earned them.

Bedford officials mishandled just under 200 ballots, and made the decision that Bedford voters didn't have the right to know what happened with those votes.

Gov. Chris Sununu then nominated one of them for a judicial position, and he was rightly denied that position of public trust and confidence.

And then we have Ward 6 in Laconia.

Between the 2020 primary and general elections, 179 ballots went uncounted. Between 38 and 54 ballots were multi-counted, causing an excess of 500 votes counted. Record keeping was so poor that reconciling ballots to votes cast was not an option.

Most importantly nobody from the Ward 6 team properly notified the state attorney general or the secretary of state that there were massive irregularities and deficiencies in how Ward 6 elections were being run.

Thankfully another ward moderator found the uncounted ballots that showed red flags and ultimately were the basis for the AG's investigation.

New Hampshire is a state that has always taken politics seriously, as well as their civic duty and should never have to worry about who is handling not just their votes, but their trust.

As a representative who has voted consistently for election integrity, and co-sponsored bills that I believe would only strengthen New Hampshire's elections, I want to thank every election moderator in the city of Laconia as well as the state of New Hampshire that run successful and most importantly accurate elections. I thank them for fostering trust between themselves and voters.

Here's to better times to come, and stronger elections for the next generation of voters to come.

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Richard Littlefield is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives serving Belknap County District 3, Laconia.