Attorney General John M. Formella announces that the Attorney General’s Office and Secretary of State’s Office have sent letters of appointment for election monitors following election reviews in Windham, Bedford, and Laconia Ward 6. The monitors are Eugene van Loan appointed to Windham, Eric Forcier appointed to Bedford, and Bonnie Winnona MacKinnon appointed for Laconia Ward 6.
The appointment of election monitors is authorized by statute where the Attorney General makes a finding that there were significant defects in vote counting or the administration of elections. The monitors are appointed to work with election officials and review the conduct of the upcoming election to ensure compliance with New Hampshire law. They are appointed for the next election, the September 13, 2022 Primary Election.
The Windham election review found administrative shortcomings and significant inaccuracies in vote counts due to the processing of incorrectly folded ballots in the November 2020 General Election. The Bedford election review found that election officials inadvertently failed to count 190 absentee ballots in the November 2020 General Election due to misplacing a container of ballots during election day processing. The Laconia Ward 6 election review found that election officials inadvertently failed to count 179 ballots from 2020 elections that were cast but left in a ballot collection box, as well as some officials double-counting dozens of ballots in the November 2020 General Election.
The election monitors are required by law to produce a report within 30 days of the September 13, 2022 Primary Election.