Latest news with #GraniteStaters
Boston Globe
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Non-citizen charged with voter fraud in three N.H. elections
While a handful of jurisdictions in other states allow non-citizens to vote in local elections, that's not the case anywhere in New Hampshire, and non-citizens voting in federal elections is illegal nationwide. Advertisement Bryan faces three state-level felonies, each punishable by a maximum sentence of three-and-a-half to seven years in prison, plus a fine of up to $4,000, according to an announcement from Attorney General John M. Formella. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up The announcement did not specify Bryan's nationality. Bryan has filed several cases in federal court in recent years without the assistance of an attorney, including one case in which a judge said Bryan had been Bryan wrote Advertisement It was not immediately clear whether Bryan has a defense attorney. He did not respond Tuesday to a direct message on social media, and efforts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful. Manchester police arrested Bryan on a warrant on Friday, and his arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 22, according to records from Formella's office. Details of how authorities discovered the alleged fraud have not yet been released. New Hampshire Secretary of State David M. Scanlan Those who were convicted in 2024 of wrongful voting include This year, a married Massachusetts couple, Several other Granite Staters have been fined for wrongful voting in 2024, according to DOJ records. The bulk of these cases involved otherwise-eligible voters trying to cast ballots in municipalities where Advertisement A new state law, backed by Republicans, took effect after the November 2024 election to The new law is Steven Porter can be reached at
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Governor Ayotte vetoes ‘bathroom bill' in N.H., just as her predecessor Chris Sununu did
Ayotte said she sees 'legitimate privacy and safety concerns' on this topic, but believes HB 148 was too broad and impractical, and risked creating 'an exclusionary environment' for some community members. 'While I believe that the legislature should address this serious issue,' she said, 'it must be done in a thoughtful and narrow way that protects the privacy, safety, and rights of all New Hampshire citizens.' Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up The legislation would have allowed public and private organizations to bar transgender individuals from using Advertisement Unlike the bathroom bills that have passed in other states, such as Every state in New England has adopted legal protections on the basis of gender identity. Had this bill been signed into law, New Hampshire would have become the only state in the region to add exceptions for transgender people in certain circumstances, according to Advertisement The legislation would have curtailed protections that Sununu When he vetoed a bill like HB 148 last year, Sununu Republican Representative Jim Kofalt of Wilton, the prime sponsor of HB 148, disagreed with Sununu's assessment and said school districts in New Hampshire have 'This is an important change that we need to make in our law so that we can respect everyone's privacy and security,' he told senators in May. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire opposed the bill, which policy advocate Courtney Reed called 'egregiously cruel legislation' that would permit discrimination. 'This discriminatory, detrimental, and regressive bill is an attempt to expel transgender Granite Staters from public life,' she said in a statement ahead of the bill's passage. Ayotte said in her veto message that she worried HB 148 would 'spur a plethora of litigation against local communities and businesses.' Ayotte said the provisions of HB 148 that pertain to athletics for women and girls are 'weaker' than New Hampshire's current law, which is being challenged in federal court. Advertisement Legal challenges to bathroom bans have had mixed results elsewhere. Some bans have been upheld, such as a Amanda Gokee can be reached at
Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Ayotte vetoes N.H. book ban legislation, citing concern about subjective standards around age-appropriateness
Ayotte said she doesn't think the state should get involved in 'addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness,' particularly with legislation that includes 'monetary penalties based on subjective standards.' Advertisement While proponents said Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up 'Every student deserves to see themselves reflected in the pages of their books,' said Megan Tuttle, president of the NEA New Hampshire, a teachers union, in a statement applauding Ayotte's decision. 'We hope this book ban bill veto represents a changing tide at the State House and call on lawmakers to listen to Granite Staters who overwhelmingly oppose classroom censorship efforts,' she added. This legislation would have required local school boards to adopt policies for handling complaints from parents who allege a particular piece of content is 'harmful to minors.' Those unhappy with the local board's handling of a complaint would then have been able to file an appeal with the state board of education, whose seven members are appointed by the governor. Advertisement Although Under existing state law — which borrows language from the US Supreme Court's What implications the phrase 'for minors' might carry for discussions of age-appropriateness would seem to be open to interpretation. The legislation said complaints would be decided first by the school principal, then by the local school board, and ultimately by the state board of education. Barrett M. Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Boards Association, said on Tuesday that his group questioned whether HB 324 was even constitutional. In some ways, its vague standard looks like the state's so-called 'divisive concepts' law, which a federal judge Christina said the NHSBA appreciates Ayotte's veto as an affirmation that 'local education decisions are best made my locally elected school board members, and not the New Hampshire legislature or the State Board of Education.' Related : Advertisement Under HB 324, if a school were to fail to follow the correct process, then anyone claiming to be aggrieved would have been authorized to sue for $1,000 per violation, plus costs and legal fees, according to the legislation. And educators would have faced the potential for professional discipline. Ayotte said she was concerned the legislation had envisioned potentially extensive civil action, 'which could open the door to unnecessary litigation from out-of-state groups.' Ayotte said an If lawmakers conclude the current law isn't being implemented adequately, the appropriate course would be to amend that law, Ayotte said. Republican state lawmakers — who hold a comfortable majority in the 400-seat House and a super-majority in the 24-seat Senate — had framed their support for HB 324 as an anti-smut campaign. 'We're not talking about 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' or some poetry that has some innuendos in it,' Republican Senator Victoria L. Sullivan of Manchester said during debate on the bill. 'We're talking about flat-out pornography.' Republican Senator Daryl A. Abbas of Salem similarly said this legislation aimed to get rid of obscene materials like 'Hustler' magazine, not ban books like 'To Kill a Mockingbird' or any of William Shakespeare's works. Advertisement His point was rhetorical. No one claimed school libraries offer 'Hustler' to kids. But others have offered more literal examples of materials they view as inappropriate for K-12 school libraries. Republican Representative Glenn Cordelli of Tuftonboro, the prime sponsor of HB 324, cited New Hampshire writer Jodi L. Picoult, whose acclaimed novel ' Picoult joined with other bestselling authors who live in New Hampshire to In a wry post Advertisement 'Now that kids can't get porn on their phones while at school,' he said, 'at least they can still find it in the library.' Steven Porter can be reached at
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ayotte vetoes partisan elections for school offices
Calling it a 'system that is not broken,' Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoed legislation to allow any city or town to hold partisan school district elections. House chair urged lawmakers to let school races be partisan House Election Laws Chairman Ross Berry, R-Weare, had been a big supporter of the bill to allow any city or town to decide their school district elections would be partisan. Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoed the bill Monday. The Republican-led Legislature had approved the bill (HB 356) largely along party lines, after its supporters maintained that it would help voters know the political affiliations of candidates on the ballot. 'This attempts to solve the low voter turnout in smaller towns. High voter turnout is good for democracy,' House Election Laws Committee Chairman Ross Berry, R-Weare, told a Senate panel in May. 'Non-partisan elections often enable candidates to disguise their true intentions. This bill would assist voters in understanding what or who they are voting for.' Ayotte said the change could be counter-productive. 'Local school board elections are run properly and in a nonpartisan manner, and there is no need to fix a system that is not broken. Making these local elections into partisan fights will create unnecessary division between Granite Staters,' Ayotte wrote in her veto message. 'For the reason stated above, I have vetoed House Bill 356.' Two-term Rep. Robert Wherry, R-Hudson, authored the bill. The solid opposition from House and Senate Democrats will ensure Ayotte would win this veto override fight since it would need two-thirds to override her decision. The House passed the bill on an unrecorded vote of 200-173, which just about mirrored the Republican vs. Democratic attendance in the House on March 27. In May, the Senate Election Laws and Municipal Affairs Committee surprisingly recommended the bill be killed by a 3-2 count. School board lobby stayed neutral When it reached the full Senate days later, however, a move to kill it failed, 13-10, with all GOP senators present voting to keep the bill alive and all Senate Democrats wanting to turn it down. Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua, was absent for that vote. Barrett Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Boards Association, said the group took no position on the matter. A partisan election provision for town elections has been a law since 1970, though it has rarely been used, he said. 'Less politics in school is a good thing' Christina said. 'The availability of certain political parties to caucus behind closed doors raises significant concerns for NHSBA.' Senate's top Democrat warned partisan elections could sow more division Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Perkins said a bill to allow cities and towns to make their school races partisan could lead to more division in the community. Senate Democratic Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka of Portsmouth had raised the argument that partisan elections could lead to more division in the community. Berry said partisanship already exists in most school elections and the bill would provide more transparency for voters. Before Berry's House committee, 10 signed up in favor of the bill and 444 against. There were even fewer signed up to take a stand on the bill before the Senate panel. What's Next: The House and Senate are likely to return to session this fall for a single day to take up Ayotte vetoes; because this is a House bill, the first test will come in that chamber. Prospects: Barring abysmal attendance by House Democrats on that day, Ayotte is highly likely to have the veto sustained. klandrigan@
Boston Globe
01-07-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
What does Trump's tax bill mean for N.H.?
Senator Maggie Hassan said the bill passed by the Senate 'will hurt Granite Staters for generations to come.' Advertisement The bill has to pass the House again before Trump can sign it into law. He's set a target of doing so by Friday – the Fourth of July. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Here are three ways the bill could impact New Hampshire. Medicaid There are about The bill includes a provision requiring some adults to work, volunteer or attend school for 80 hours a month in order to enroll in Medicaid, unless they qualify for an exception, according to the Advertisement New administrative burdens could cost the state tens of millions of dollars in technology upgrades and personnel costs, according to Jim Monahan, who leads an ad-hoc group of healthcare advocates in New Hampshire. Having nearly 50,000 people suddenly lose coverage could increase the cost of uncompensated care for providers, and Monahan's group warned it could drive up commercial insurance rates. Food assistance and SNAP The Currently, there are about 77,000 people in New Hampshire who receive SNAP benefits. Planned Parenthood The Republican budget passed by the Senate also includes a provision banning Planned Parenthood health centers nationally from participating in the Medicaid program. The program helps people with lower incomes get some types of basic reproductive health care including birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment, according to a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood NH Action Fund. In New Hampshire, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England sees about 10,000 patients per year at four health centers, and one in five of those patients have Medicaid insurance. Kayla Montgomery, vice president of Public Affairs for the Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund, said for now, none of the New Hampshire health centers are at risk of closing. Advertisement Amanda Gokee can be reached at
