New Hampshire

Judge strikes down challenge to NH absentee voting law

Published

3 months ago

December 14, 2025

Judge strikes down challenge to NH absentee voting law

A superior court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a group of visually impaired New Hampshire voters who argued a newly passed absentee voter law violates the state constitution.

In a lawsuit filed this summer, the plaintiffs alleged the measure, which was backed by state Republicans, places a disproportionate burden on people with disabilities by making it harder to vote.

On Friday, New Hampshire Superior Court Judge David Ruoff dismissed the case, ruling that the new policies are reasonable.

The new law requires people requesting an absentee ballot to prove their identity in one of three ways: either mail in a photocopy of an ID, along with their ballot application; have their ballot application notarized; or show an ID at town hall prior to an election.

In his opinion, Ruoff said, “The identification requirements impose ordinary burdens on all absentee voters, and the possibility that it may cause additional burden on a subset of absentee voters does not render the entire statute unconstitutional.”

It isn’t clear if the plaintiffs will appeal the ruling to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

“We appreciate the Court’s recognition that the identification requirements for absentee voters are reasonable, constitutional, and consistent with New Hampshire’s long-standing election practices,” said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, who defended the law in court.

New Hampshire residents who vote in person are already required to show an ID at the polls when requesting a ballot. Supporters of the new law say the same safeguards should be in place for those voters who request an absentee ballot.

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New Hampshire

N.H. lawmakers move to kill impeachment inquiry against high-ranking Democrat – The Boston Globe

Published

9 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

N.H. lawmakers move to kill impeachment inquiry against high-ranking Democrat – The Boston Globe

CONCORD, N.H. – New Hampshire lawmakers have moved to reject a Republican-backed proposal to launch an impeachment inquiry into the lone Democrat on the state’s five-member Executive Council.

On Friday, a key committee of lawmakers delivered a unanimous 17-0 vote against an impeachment inquiry into Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill of Lebanon, N.H.

The vote on House Resolution 41 followed an abbreviated public hearing, after the bill’s sponsor withdrew his support for the proposal and instead asked lawmakers on the committee to recommend killing it.

The push for Liot Hill’s impeachment was led by Representative Joe Sweeney, a Salem Republican and the deputy majority leader in the New Hampshire House.

At issue were several emails Liot Hill had sent from her official account to help a partisan law firm identify voters impacted by a new state law. The law tightened voter ID requirements for absentee ballots.

Sweeney had previously called Liot Hill’s correspondence “political lawfare run out of a taxpayer-funded inbox.” In December, a review by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office found that Liot Hill’s conduct was not illegal and did not constitute a misuse of office, clearing the complaint against her.

Reached by the Globe on Friday, Sweeney, who was not present at the public hearing, said in a statement he preferred to let voters decide whether Liot Hill should continue to serve in the upcoming November election.

“After reviewing the matter and hearing the discussion, I believe the appropriate course is to move forward and allow the voters and the political process to do their work,” he said.

“The purpose of filing the resolution was to ensure that the constitutional questions raised were addressed seriously and transparently,” he said, noting that he stands by the process and the decision to recommend killing the resolution.

In an interview, Liot Hill said she was pleased with the unanimous vote from the House Judiciary Committee.

“The committee vote, I think, sends the message that there was no merit to this,” she said.

The proposal now heads to the full House of Representatives, which has the power to approve the committee’s recommendation to reject it.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

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New Hampshire

Woman charged in death of baby found floating in New Hampshire pond

Published

21 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Woman charged in death of baby found floating in New Hampshire pond

Updated on: February 26, 2026 / 8:30 PM EST
/ CBS Boston

A woman has been arrested in connection with the death of her baby whose body was found in a pond in Manchester, New Hampshire last year. Hepay Juma, 26, of Manchester, is now charged with reckless second-degree murder.

The New Hampshire Attorney General said Juma was arrested for “causing the death of Baby Jane “Grace” Doe, her child, under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

On March 27, 2025, the baby’s body was found floating in the water at Pine Island Park in Manchester. The baby’s death was treated as suspicious following an autopsy.

Investigators have not released any information about how they made the arrest or how the baby died.

Hepay Juma, 26, of Manchester, NH, is charged in connection with the death of her baby.

Manchester, NH police

At the time, Manchester Police Chief Peter Marr said the baby’s death was “extremely tragic.”

Police asked the public for help after the baby’s body was discovered. They wanted to know if anyone saw someone discarding anything in the water in the previous 14 days, or if anyone knew a pregnant woman who gave birth during that time who needed medical help.

A funeral was held for baby Grace Doe last May, and the public was invited to pay their respects. “The way she was discarded is heartbreaking, and it is important that we give her a proper farewell,” Chief Marr said last year.

The baby was named Grace by police “to celebrate the kindness extended to her by those who refuse to let her life go unrecognized.”

Juma is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in Manchester District Court.

In:

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New Hampshire

Man dead after Windsor, New Hampshire, house fire

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Man dead after Windsor, New Hampshire, house fire

A man was found dead after an early morning house fire in Windsor, New Hampshire, on Thursday.

The Hillsboro Fire Department was called to the home on Stone Circle by a neighbor just before 4 a.m., according to the State Fire Marshal’s Office. When crews arrived they found a single-family home nearly burned to the ground, and began searching for one person believed inside.

One person, an adult man, was found dead. He has not been publicly identified at this time.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though investigators do not think it is suspicious. Fire officials believe the fire had been burning for some time before first responders arrived.

Firefighters from Henniker, Deering, Antrim, and Washington assisted with the call.

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