Washington, D.C. – The longest-serving Secretary of State in America is New Hampshire’s Bill Gardner, a Democrat who has held office for over 40 years. Gardner was adamant during the debate over S.1, the “Corrupt Politicians Act,” that the bill would seriously jeopardize New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary status.
The failed “Corrupt Politicians Act” was sponsored by New Hampshire’s junior Senator Maggie Hassan for reasons unknown to those who want to preserve New Hampshire’s primary status. Now, Democrats are back with the same bill, new title – the “Freedom to Vote Act” – that Hassan still no doubt supports and, according to Gardner, it doesn’t fix the problem:
Even more concerning to Gardner is the inclusion of primaries in the Freedom to Vote Act’s definition of a federal election.
He said he closely reviewed the For the People Act, and there were no such references in that bill.
“The point is they did this now, and they didn’t do it in the first bill,” Gardner said. “You had a 1,500-page bill and now you have a 600-page bill, but they are still fundamentally changing how we conduct and participate in our election.”
“This is a terrible way to do this,” Gardner said.
Gardner acknowledged it may mean that if the Freedom to Vote Act passes, the federal government could supersede the New Hampshire law that mandates the presidential primary must be held at least seven days before any similar election.
“This bill puts the primary in there, and here we go,” he said. “I said that the old bill could put our primary in a perilous position. Well, this new bill could put our primary in a perilous position.”
Statement from Spokesman T.W. Arrighi: “For over 40 years, the New Hampshire legislature has entrusted Democrat Bill Gardner to oversee the state’s elections. Yet, when it comes to preserving New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, his warnings to the federal delegation are falling on deaf ears. Maggie Hassan, who cosponsored the Corrupt Politicians Act, is looking for a political win at the cost of her own state’s pivotal primary position.”
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