Of all the problematic votes on unpopular issues taken by State House Democrats this year, none was more puzzling than their support for the state’s mandatory vehicle inspection program.
Granite Staters hate them, and 128 House Democrats voted (unsuccessfully) to keep them.
Why?
Taking the losing side on “80-20” issues has become standard procedure for Granite State Democrats, it’s true. But most of the policies involved are relatively abstract. Yes, New Hampshire voters overwhelmingly oppose sanctuary city policies, but — the occasional mass murderer illegal immigrant busted in Rye aside — few Granite Staters have encounters with criminal aliens.
And New Hampshire voters are even less supportive of allowing males to compete on female sports teams, but there are only a handful of trans athletes in the state. Most parents don’t have to deal with this problem.
But car inspections? There are nearly as many cars in the Granite State as there are Granite Staters. The state has 1.4 million people and about 1.38 million registered vehicles. According to the census, fewer than two percent of New Hampshire households don’t have a vehicle.
In other words, almost everybody has a car, and nearly every car owner hates the “sticker scam.”
And as long as New Hampshire is one of the 14 states that still require vehicle safety inspections, voters who live in those households have to fork over 40 bucks to a mechanic and then hope he doesn’t find a wonky wiper or faulty flux capacitor to add to the tab.
Ask House members what issue inspired the most spontaneous reaction from average voters — not Concord activists — and they say it’s the inspections.
So, what were House Democrats thinking when 128 of them voted against getting rid of them?
Inspection fees are a flat tax on vehicle ownership. Progressive Democrats should hate that. In fact, lower-income families are likely to pay more because they’re more likely to own cars that have mechanical problems when they roll in for inspections — another reason for Democrats to reject them.
Instead, they voted “no.”
New Hampshire Democrats voting for unpopular positions on illegal immigration or transgender issues makes some political sense because their political party is built on identity politics. Opposing increased immigration enforcement or supporting naked men in women’s locker rooms is a way to appease the far-left base.
But where’s the organized support for vehicle inspections?
Rep. Michael Granger (R-Milton Mills), who sponsored the bill ending the inspections, noticed something about the emails he received on the issue during the session. They were authentic.
“In sheer quantity of emails, it was not the number one issue, but every last email was unique,” he told NHJournal. “It wasn’t a matter of people clicking a button to send the same text as everyone else, like all the other major email campaigns we received.”
And then there’s the simple political math: The anti-inspection bill was going to pass the House, anyway. So why not take the popular position and vote to kill it? It was already dead; why hand Republicans a populist hammer to hit you with next year?
“I don’t envy the House Democrats in 2026 who will have to explain their support for the wildly unpopular annual car inspection to voters,” said Rep. Ross Berry (R-Weare). “This seems to be the number one thing people cared about in the budget, and Democrats chose to die on that hill– for little or no reason.”
NHJournal asked several House Democrats, including Minority Leader Alexis Simpson (D-Exeter), what that reason might be. They all declined to respond.
Perhaps they don’t have an answer. Perhaps Democrats — who can’t find a candidate for Manchester mayor or New Hampshire governor — have just given up on state elections and resigned themselves to being the angry, out-of-touch minority. Perhaps attending pointless “No Kings” rallies while Republicans are passing real legislation is enough.
If not, then Democrats might want to try a new strategy: supporting policies voters don’t actually hate.
