The Democracy Defense Project’s New Hampshire board released a statement Tuesday condemning state Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley for “spreading false claims of voter fraud in the 2024 presidential election.”
As first reported by NHJournal, Buckley has used his Twitter/X account to distribute videos of an analyst using dubious science to suggest Vice President Kamala Harris was cheated out of a White House victory. “An election expert has cast doubt on Trump’s 2024 election victory, showing possible election fraud that could lead to Harris overturning the results,” reads one post shared by Buckley.
The New Hampshire Democracy Defense Project, whose mission is “to promote awareness of, and build confidence in, the state’s election systems,” criticized Buckley’s actions.
“The presidential election of 2024 was conducted on a free and fair basis, state by state, with no legitimate concerns regarding cyber interference or altered ballot counting,” wrote the Democracy Defense Project New Hampshire board.
“The new claims of a stolen 2024 presidential election due to supposed internet interference are unfounded, untrue, and unfortunate.”
Buckley has not commented on the criticism of his election-denial messaging, and the posts remained on his Twitter/X feed late Tuesday.
The bipartisan DDP board includes two former New Hampshire U.S. representatives: Richard Swett, a Democrat who also served as President Bill Clinton’s ambassador to Denmark, and Charlie Bass, a Republican. Bass filled the vacancy created when John E. Sununu left the DDP to run for the U.S. Senate.
The DDP, which is active in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin, says its mission is “to defend the transparency, safety, security, and validity of our nation’s electoral system. We will … be an active voice against any individual or organization that would look to undermine lawful election processes and outcomes.”
For example, the group rebutted a claim in the video shared by Buckley that voting machines with modems may have been manipulated to change vote totals.
“No vote-counting machine is connected to the internet in New Hampshire. Our state conducts elections on a local level that abides by New Hampshire law and is conducted on a personal and true neighborly basis,” the New Hampshire DDP wrote.
Last September, the organization praised New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan for rejecting the Trump administration’s demand to submit a copy of the state’s voter registration list to the Department of Justice.
Bass said he joined the group because “I know at a very intimate level how critical our election systems are to ensuring our democracy is representative of the will of the people. I look forward to working alongside Amb. Swett to continue the bipartisan drumbeat advocating for our fair, free, and transparent elections.”
Swett noted the two had “competed for the same seat” in the past — New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District — “and now we have the opportunity of working together in a bipartisan fashion to ensure that seat is properly filled in the future.
“We have been on both the winning and losing ends of elections, and we understand that no matter the outcome, we stand by the results. That’s the great thing about our democracy, and why we must continue to rebuild confidence in both the processes and outcomes of our election systems,” Swett said.
