Ask Granite Staters why they think the U.S. is on the wrong track, and a top concern (according to the latest UNH Survey Center poll) is the strength of the nation’s democracy. Confidence in the integrity of America’s democratic elections has been shaken in recent years, undermining faith in governing institutions.
On this episode of “Up To Speed,” two well-known New Hampshire political leaders talk about what they’re doing to help restore that confidence and promote participation in the democratic system. Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu and former Ambassador Dick Swett are part of the Democracy Defense Project.
They share their views on elections at the state and federal levels on this episode of “Up To Speed,” sponsored by Legislative Solutions.
A few highlights:
What is the Democracy Defense Project, and what does it do?
Sununu: The Democracy Defense Project was put together at the end of 2023 to focus on public confidence and the integrity of the election process, not just in New Hampshire but all over the country. The focus was on some of the bigger, more competitive states as we went into the 2024 elections.
The thought was, let’s put together a bipartisan organization that’s not advocating for or against pieces of legislation, but just talking about how elections should work. What are the elements in the election process that give people confidence? And perhaps we could identify some of the issues that cause more questions, and maybe should be addressed.
Ambassador Swett and I are the (Democracy Defense Project) co-chairs for New Hampshire. We’ve spent time talking to elected officials, working with the secretary of state, doing op-eds, and writing about our perspective on the election process.
Ambassador Swett, what kind of shape is our democracy in, in your opinion?
Swett: I would say the condition of the national patient is critical. I think in New Hampshire, we’re pretty we’re pretty well off.
But it was interesting: When I traveled around the state — we had nine different hearings, we took over 40 hours of public hearing testimony — what I found was that there was a lack of confidence, based on (events) that ultimately turned out to mainly be human error. Not some kind of conspiracy theory or some kind of setup where one group or another was trying to manipulate the elections.
We’re trying to not only suggest that others follow the example New Hampshire has set, but also to establish a transparent process through which people see exactly what’s going on in their elections. Let people know that their vote counts, know that the results of their collective votes are a democratic resolution to who takes the next office.
What are New Hampshire’s fundamental strengths?
Sununu: Well, everyone has a paper ballot. That’s it right there. Any auditing, recounting etc. is much easier, much more straightforward, but it’s also transparent. We have counting machines, not voting machines. We have electronic counting machines to help with the counting of the paper ballots.
Swett: And they are not connected to the internet.
And in New Hampshire, everybody knows everybody. Everybody’s a neighbor to the moderator, everybody’s a neighbor to the vote counters and volunteers. And that intimacy makes a huge difference because when mistakes occur, we’re dealing with friends. We’re dealing with people that we know and trust. And I think that’s a very important foundation upon which to build this voter confidence.
