ODA's NH Democracy Legislative Scorecard is a tool for YOU, voters and community members, to hold your elected officials accountable. 

The Scorecards are divided by county, and within each you will see how your NH Senators, Representatives, and Governor voted on a slate of democracy-related bills.

Who is my Senator? Click HERE.

Who is my Representative? Click HERE.

NH Senate Scorecard Belknap County Carroll County Cheshire County Coos County Grafton County Hillsborough County Merrimack County Rockingham County Strafford County Sullivan County

What bills were included in the Scorecard? PDF of Bills Overview HERE

Money in Politics Bills:

HB324 - An act relative to campaign contributions and expenditures and making an appropriation therefor. This bill creates a fund for voter-owned elections in NH; particularly regarding Executive Council and Governor races. Additionally, this bill creates a voter-owned elections commission.  ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill.

HB1074 - An act relative to campaign contributions by limited liability companies. This bill requires political contributions by LLCs to be allocated to members of that LLC. This is in order to determine whether or not contributions from LLCs, in the aggregate, do not exceed individual contribution limits.  ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill.

Voting Bills:

HB1369 - An act relative to verification of voter rolls every 4 years. This bill requires an increase in voter roll verification by Supervisors for the Checklist from every 10 years to every 4 years (starting in 2027). ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted AGAINST this bill.

HB1149 - An act relative to domicile residency, voter registration, investigation of voter verification letters, and relative to the terms "resident," "inhabitant," "residence," and "residency." Essentially, this bill modifies the definition of domicile (regarding voter registration), cleans up language in voter registration materials, and amends the general statutory definitions of "resident or inhabitant" and "residence or residency" to account for the intent to maintain a principal place of physical presence for the indefinite future. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill.

HB1119 - An act relative to absentee ballots. This bill strikes excessive language when requesting an absentee ballot due to a severe storm. The language is adjusted to be more generally applicable to all populations. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill.

HB1364 - An act relative to intimidation of election officials, officers, and workers, improper influence over the electoral process, and tampering with electronic ballot counting devices, voter lists or rosters, voter registration systems, and voting system components or passwords. This bill makes the intimidation of election workers , influencing the electoral process, and tampering with electronic ballot counting devices, voter lists or rosters, voter registration systems, and voting system components or passwords a crime. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill. 

HB1557 - An act requiring the Secretary of State to enter into a membership agreement with the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This bill would require the Secretary of State by law (using the phrase "shall") to enter ERIC and maintain the upkeep required by participation in such an agreement. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill because entering into the ERIC system would help keep our checklists clean and up to date while streamlining the process of updating your voter registration when you move.

SB537 - An act allowing the processing of absentee ballots. This bill would allow for moderators to begin processing absentee ballots before the opening of the polls to correct mistakes and relieve pressure on election workers. This was a procedure used during COVID-19. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill.

SB220 - An act modifying the absentee voter registration process, absentee ballot application, and absentee ballot voting process. This bill would allow for no-excuse absentee registration and voting. Additionally, this bill would allow for the partial processing/pre-processing of absentee ballots before election day. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill.

HB75 - An act relative to the election of Strafford County commissioners. This bill changes the way that Strafford County commissioners are elected, and sets county commissioner districts within the county. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted AGAINST this bill.

SB536 - An act enabling no-excuse absentee registration and voting. This bill strikes language requiring a person to provide an excuse (physical disability, employment obligation, etc.) when requesting an absentee ballot. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill.

HB1569 - An act relative to eliminating voter identification exceptions. This bill eliminates the use of affidavits when participating in same-day registration at the polls. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted AGAINST this bill because this bill would result in countless eligible NH voters being unable to exercise their right to vote due to missing documents.

HB1370 - An act relative to eliminating voter identification exceptions. This bill removes any exceptions for proving voter identification. This bill also removes the voter affidavits as proof of identification and repeals the procedures for affidavit ballots. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted AGAINST this bill because this bill would result in countless eligible NH voters being unable to exercise their right to vote due to missing documents.

Redistricting Bills:

HB1426 - A bill to establish an independent redistricting commission. ODA gave elected officials a green checkmark in voting FOR democracy if they voted FOR this bill. Currently, NH Senators and Representatives create new voting districts every 10 years after the census to balance the districts based on population changes. This means that every 10 years, new districts are drawn by the very people who have the strongest interest in creating easily-winnable districts. An independent redistricting commission would ensure fair maps are drawn, by removing this conflict of interest.

Analysis of all redistricting maps available at: https://www.opendemocracyaction.org/maps

Scoring methodology

There are six scoring categories:

• Voted for democracy: Elected officials who voted FOR democracy are officials who voted, depending on the bill, to either limit the influence of money in politics, protect the freedom to vote, or to create fair redistricting maps.
• Voted against democracy: Elected officials who voted AGAINST democracy are officials who voted, depending on the bill, to either increase the influence of money in politics, restrict the freedom to vote, or to create unfair redistricting maps.
• Excused absence: These officials were not present for a vote and had an excuse for their absence, or were presiding over the session.
• Unexcused Absence: These officials were not present for a vote, and did not give an excuse for their absence.
• Not voting: These officials were present, but chose to skip the vote on a particular bill. 
• No Vote: These officials resigned, passed away while in office, or are the officials who got voted into office to fill a vacancy.

Why some bills and not others?

There are three types of votes taken by the legislature. Only the roll call vote tracks how individual legislators vote.

Roll Call Votes: For an important vote where the public is watching carefully, roll call votes put each legislator on the record as voting for or against a bill.  Roll call votes give us the most information as to who is, and is not, supporting democracy legislation. These votes are the basis for our ODA Scorecard.  

Voice Votes: Voice votes are typically taken when a vote is not controversial and not expected to be close.  The chair makes a determination from the front of the room as to whether there are more Yeas than Nays, and if it's too close to call, a roll call or division vote may be requested.  These votes do not put legislators on the record, and are NOT included in our scorecard.

Division Votes: If a bill is close, or particularly contentious, a division vote might be taken.  Unlike a voice vote, every vote is counted, but not tied to a particular legislator.   This gives cover to legislators who might vote for a bill that his or her constituents might not like, or where that legislator might vote against the party's position. These votes do not put legislators on the record though, and are NOT included in our scorecard.

Previous Years: 2021-2022 Scorecard