CONCORD, N.H. — Efforts to encourage young people to register to vote in New Hampshire are working, according to a new report by The Civics Center, a nonprofit focused on youth voter registration.
Around the state, an estimated 21.2 percent of 18-year-olds had registered to vote by the end of June, the report found. That’s up over 12 points compared to six months prior, when only 9 percent of 18-year-olds were registered.
“I’d say it’s very meaningful progress to increase the rate by 12 percentage points, and there’s still a very long way to go for New Hampshire to help its youngest citizens get ready to participate in democracy,” said Laura W. Brill, founder and CEO of The Civics Center.
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The report found Portsmouth was the community with the highest registration of 18-year-olds (44 percent), while Manchester came in 20th (9 percent).
23nhmrvoters – Registration rates in New Hampshire by county. (The Civics Center)The Civics Center
New Hampshire is still behind other states where registration rates are much higher, like Michigan which had registered 74 percent of 18-year-olds by August, or New York with 40 percent by May, according to data from The Civics Center.
Brill said it’s harder for young people to register in New Hampshire than states that offer online registration, DMV registration, or pre-registration starting at age 16.
The organization focuses on registering first-time voters because US Census Data shows people who are registered are more likely to vote.
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In New Hampshire, The Civics Center worked on voter registration drives along with Open Democracy NH, a democracy-focused nonprofit, to boost registration numbers. They held 18 drives across 15 communities in the state, according to The Civics Center.
Brill said gains were particularly notable in two of the towns that hosted drives: In Exeter, registration rates increased by 36 points, while in Bow, they increased by 27 points, although there are still nearly 13,000 18-year-olds estimated to be unregistered around the state.
23nhmrvoters – Registration rates in New Hampshire by city and town. (The Civics Center)The Civics Center
This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
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Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.
A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.
Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.
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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.
A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.
Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.
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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.
Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.
In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.
During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.
When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote.
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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.
While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.
As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.
While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.
“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.
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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.
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