2019-2020 Overview

About Open Democracy Action

Open Democracy Action (ODA) is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to creating and safeguarding political equality for the people of New Hampshire. We believe this will only happen through an open, accountable, and trusted democratic government, “of, by, and for the people,” that is free from the corrupting influence of big-money politics and control.

To that end, we educate and inform New Hampshire's citizens and the state's civic and political leaders about reforms needed to replace the current big-money political system⎯a system which perpetuates political inequality⎯with a system of people politics that encourages equality. And we assist and mobilize groups, candidates, and elected officials who support the reform agenda.

The Open Democracy Action Scorecard

It is one thing for candidates to declare that they believe in open democracy and stand for political equality, quite another for office holders to vote in ways that move us in that direction. This scorecard measures the latter. It is ODA's third annual report to New Hampshire's citizens documenting how their state representatives and senators voted on democracy issues. This year we have included the Governor's record of signing or vetoing the democracy bills that reached his desk.

In 2019 New Hampshire legislators passed a number of bills that would take strong steps toward returning our state government to the people it is obligated to represent. These bills close loopholes in campaign finance law, repeal previous efforts to curb voting rights, remove politics from the redistricting process, and call for a constitutional amendment to counter the U.S. Supreme Court's damaging and naive Citizens United decision. Sadly, few of these bills became law due to the Governor's unprecedented use of his veto power.

We encourage all who read this scorecard to become familiar with how their elected officials voted on these bills, to urge them to support legislation that would create a more open state government, and to question and organize against those who oppose these efforts.

2019 and 2020 Bills 

Open Democracy Action followed a number of bills during the 2019 and 2020 legislative session. Few of these were decided by roll call votes in both the Senate and House. (Roll calls provide a record of individual votes, so are essential for scorecard data.) Bills and resolutions that originated in the House (HBs, HRs and HCRs) and were voted down in that chamber, were not considered in the Senate, and vice versa for bills originating in the Senate (SBs). Some bills were placed on the Consent Calendar or decided by voice vote, so furnished no data for scoring. Still, eighteen votes (including override votes), ten in the Senate and eight in the House, provided information on which to score legislators on the issues we care about. The Governor was scored on 12 bills. Please note 2020 had limited legislative activity in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Scoring methodology

The score that appears in the red column on the following pages represents a legislator's percentage of pro-reform votes. Because it is impossible to know why a legislator missed a particular vote, excused absences (A/E) and unexcused absences (A/U) were treated as anti-reform votes. Those legislators with fewer than two recorded votes were not scored and show N/S in the score column.

2020 Scorecards Bills

HB1266- Temporary Changes to Absentee Voting This bill made temporary changes to the absentee voting process in response to the coronavirus COVID-19. This allowed for voter registration by mail for those not able to appear in person before their election officials. It also allowed for absentee voting for individuals expressing concerns about voting in person. The absentee ballot application was required and available from the Secretary of State and town/city clerks. This application allowed for both the primary and general election ballots to be requested with a single form.

This passed unanimously in the Senate 24-0 and in the House the vote was 221-101. It was signed into law by the Governor.

HB1665- Establishing an Independent Advisory Commission on Redistricting 

This bill proposed an independent advisory commission on redistricting in order to conduct an open transparent process to consider the drawing of district lines. The commission was to be comprised of an equal number of members of both parties. The commission would propose maps that would not favor any political party or candidate and they would be available to the public.

This bill was passed by the Senate 15-9. It was passed by the House 203-121. It was vetoed by the Governor and the veto override vote was 198-135, failing to reach the 2/3 majority required to override.

HB1672- Absentee Voting

This measure authorizes online voter registration, voters to vote by absentee ballot, and allows municipalities to process but not count, absentee ballots prior to election day. This bill would also require the Secretary of State to share voter data in a statewide centralized voter registration database. This bill was in response to COVID-19. This bill was broader than HB1266.

The bill went through the House as Ought to Pass 194-132 then to the Senate passing 14-10. The bill was brought to the House session on 7/1/20 to concur 195-130. The bill was vetoed by the Governor and the veto override vote was 191-141, failing to obtain the 2/3 majority required to override.

2019 Bills Scored for the Governor

Redistricting

HB 706 would establish an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission. The commission would replace the current method by which boundary lines are drawn by members of the majority party⎯a practice that commonly gives that party electoral advantage (aka political gerrymandering). HB 706 passed in the House on a vote of 218-123 and in the Senate on a voice vote. Governor Sununu vetoed it and the House failed on a vote of 227-145 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override.

Voting Rights

HB 105 would repeal SB 3 (2017), the highly controversial bill that required voters wishing to register and vote on election day to provide written proof of domicile. If they cannot do so, they must fill out a lengthy, confusing affidavit and agree to submit proof within a short period or be investigated and subject to criminal penalties. ODA considered SB 3 to be a draconian solution to a nonexistent problem, predicting it would discourage many legitimate Granite Staters from voting. HB 105 passed in the House on a vote of 209-155 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. The House failed on a vote of 220-156 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override Governor Sununu's veto.

HB 106 would repeal HB 1264 (2018) the bill that made what appeared to be a small technical change—equating "domicile" for voting purposes with "residency." Its ramifications were anything but small, however. Of HB 1264, the NH Campaign for Voting Rights stated: "This bill would have a chilling effect on the rights of eligible New Hampshire voters in the military, professionals and students...[and] acts as a post-election poll tax..." HB 106 passed in the House on a vote of 213-154 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. Governor Sununu vetoed it and the House failed to override on a vote of 224-158.

Transparency and political contribution restrictions

SB 105 limits contributions to gubernatorial inaugural committees to $10,000 per contributor and calls for receipts for any inaugural expenditures over $1,000 paid to the governor-elect or the governor-elect's family members. SB 105 passed in the Senate on a strong bipartisan 22-2 vote. The House passed it on a voice vote. The governor signed the bill.

SB 106 would close a loophole in election law that some independent spending groups have used to avoid registering with the Secretary of State and filing expenditure reports. It passed unanimously in the Senate and passed in the House on a voice vote. The Senate failed on a vote of 15-9 to get the 16 votes needed to override the Governor's veto.

SB 156 would close the loophole allowing a donor to create multiple Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) to get around campaign contribution limits. The bill passed the Senate on a 13-11 vote and the House on a 212-139 division vote. The Senate failed on a 14-10 party-line vote to override the Governor's veto.

Citizens United

HB 504 would make New Hampshire the 20th state to call for Congress (not an Article V Constitutional Convention of the States) to pass a constitutional amendment to be ratified by the states allowing and requiring federal and state governments to regulate money in politics to prevent corruption, i.e., overturn the Citizen's United vs FEC decision. It also contained a component prohibiting partisan gerrymandering. HB 504 passed in the House on a division vote (no names associated with votes) of 200-149 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. The House failed on a vote of 221-157 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override Governor Sununu's veto. Despite the veto, New Hampshire can still claim to be the 20th state to go on record against Citizens United.

Other

SB 206 Utility companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and lobbying expenses for projects like Northern Pass. SB 206 prohibits passing these costs on to consumers. SB 206 passed unanimously in the Senate, the House passed it on a voice vote, and the governor signed the bill into law.

Scoring methodology

The score that appears in the red column on the following page represents the Governor's percentage of pro-reform votes.

2019 Bills Scored in the Senate

Voting Rights

HB 105 would repeal SB 3 (2017), the highly controversial bill that required voters wishing to register and vote on election day to provide written proof of domicile. If they cannot do so, they must fill out a lengthy, confusing affidavit and agree to submit proof within a short period or be investigated and subject to criminal penalties. ODA considered SB 3 to be a draconian solution to a nonexistent problem, predicting it would discourage many legitimate Granite Staters from voting. HB 105 passed in the House on a vote of 209-155 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. The House failed on a vote of 220-156 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override Governor Sununu's veto.

HB 106 would repeal HB 1264 (2018) the bill that made what appeared to be a small technical change—equating "domicile" for voting purposes with "residency." Its ramifications were anything but small, however. Of HB 1264, the NH Campaign for Voting Rights stated: "This bill would have a chilling effect on the rights of eligible New Hampshire voters in the military, professionals and students...[and] acts as a post-election poll tax..." HB 106 passed in the House on a vote of 213-154 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. Governor Sununu vetoed it and the House failed to override on a vote of 224-158.

SB 7, the SMART Act, would provide each potential voter an opportunity to register to vote at the time they obtain a driver's license, a practice used successfully in a number of states. The Division of Motor Vehicles would share information from its database with the Secretary of State, allowing efficient updating of voter checklists whenever voters change their address. The Senate passed SB 7 on a 13-10 party-line vote. The bill was retained in committee in the House.

Transparency and political contribution restrictions

SB 105 limits contributions to gubernatorial inaugural committees to $10,000 per contributor and calls for receipts for any inaugural expenditures over $1,000 paid to the governor-elect or the governor-elect's family members. SB 105 passed in the Senate on a strong bipartisan 22-2 vote. The House passed it on a voice vote. The governor signed the bill.

SB 106 (regular and override votes) would close a loophole in election law that some independent spending groups have used to avoid registering with the Secretary of State and filing expenditure reports. It passed unanimously in the Senate and passed in the House on a voice vote. The Senate failed on a vote of 15-9 to get the 16 votes needed to override the Governor's veto.

SB 156 (regular and override votes) would close the loophole allowing a donor to create multiple Limited Liability Corporations (LLCs) to get around campaign contribution limits. The bill passed the Senate on a 13-11 vote and the House on a 212-139 division vote. The Senate failed on a 14-10 party-line vote to override the Governor's veto.

Citizens United

HB 504 would make New Hampshire the 20th state to call for Congress (not an Article V Constitutional Convention of the States) to pass a constitutional amendment to be ratified by the states allowing and requiring federal and state governments to regulate money in politics to prevent corruption, i.e., overturn the Citizen's United vs FEC decision. It also contained a component prohibiting partisan gerrymandering. HB 504 passed in the House on a division vote (no names associated with votes) of 200-149 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. The House failed on a vote of 221-157 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override Governor Sununu's veto. Despite the veto, New Hampshire can still claim to be the 20th state to go on record against Citizens United.

Other

SB 206 Utility companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and lobbying expenses for projects like Northern Pass. SB 206 prohibits passing these costs on to consumers. SB 206 passed unanimously in the Senate, the House passed it on a voice vote, and the governor signed the bill into law.

Scoring methodology

The score that appears in the red column on the following pages represents a legislator's percentage of pro-reform votes. Because it is impossible to know why a legislator missed a particular vote, excused absences (A/E) and unexcused absences (A/U) were treated as anti-reform votes. Representatives with fewer than two recorded votes were not scored and show N/S in the score column.

2019 Bills Scored in the House of Representatives

Redistricting

HB 706 (regular session and override votes) would establish an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission. The commission would replace the current method by which boundary lines are drawn by members of the majority party⎯a practice that commonly gives that party electoral advantage (aka political gerrymandering). HB 706 passed in the House on a vote of 218-123 and in the Senate on a voice vote. Governor Sununu vetoed it and the House failed on a vote of 227-145 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override.

Voting Rights

HB 105 (regular session and override votes) would repeal SB 3 (2017), the highly controversial bill that required voters wishing to register and vote on election day to provide written proof of domicile. If they cannot do so, they must fill out a lengthy, confusing affidavit and agree to submit proof within a short period or be investigated and subject to criminal penalties. ODA considered SB 3 to be a draconian solution to a nonexistent problem, predicting it would discourage many legitimate Granite Staters from voting. HB 105 passed in the House on a vote of 209-155 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. The House failed on a vote of 220-156 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override Governor Sununu's veto.

HB 106 (regular session and override votes) would repeal HB 1264 (2018) the bill that made what appeared to be a small technical change—equating "domicile" for voting purposes with "residency." Its ramifications were anything but small, however. Of HB 1264, the NH Campaign for Voting Rights stated: "This bill would have a chilling effect on the rights of eligible New Hampshire voters in the military, professionals and students...[and] acts as a post-election poll tax..." HB 106 passed in the House on a vote of 213-154 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. Governor Sununu vetoed it and the House failed to override on a vote of 224-158.

Citizens United

HB 504 (override vote) would make New Hampshire the 20th state to call for Congress (not an Article V Constitutional Convention of the States) to pass a constitutional amendment to be ratified by the states allowing and requiring federal and state governments to regulate money in politics to prevent corruption, i.e., overturn the Citizen's United vs FEC decision. It also contained a component prohibiting partisan gerrymandering. HB 504 passed in the House on a division vote (no names associated with votes) of 200-149 and in the Senate on a party-line 14-10 vote. The House failed on a vote of 221-157 to reach the necessary 2/3 majority to override Governor Sununu's veto. Despite the veto, New Hampshire can still claim to be the 20th state to go on record against Citizens United.

HCR 5 also calls for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to counter the effects of the Citizens United decision. The bill passed in the House on a vote of 198-132. As a House resolution, HCR 5 was not taken up by the Senate. 

Scoring methodology

The score that appears in the red column on the following pages represents a legislator's percentage of pro-reform votes. Because it is impossible to know why a legislator missed a particular vote, excused absences (A/E) and unexcused absences (A/U) were treated as anti-reform votes. Representatives with fewer than two recorded votes were not scored and show N/S in the score column.