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New Hampshire

NH bill would divide presidential electors by district: 'We want voters to feel their vote counts'

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NH bill would divide presidential electors by district: 'We want voters to feel their vote counts'


New Hampshire lawmakers are looking to mirror Maine and Nebraska, and make theirs the third state that divides its presidential electors by congressional district in what a top Republican proponent called a bid to give more power to the voters.

Senate Bill 11, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Bill Gannon and seven other Republicans, would award a presidential delegate to the winner of each of its two congressional districts and award two more to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

“Congressional district presidential electors shall cast their ballots for the presidential and vice-presidential candidates who received the highest number of votes in their respective congressional districts,” Senate Bill 11 reads.

The bill will receive its first committee hearing Tuesday, Fox News Digital has learned.

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POPULAR REPUBLICAN REVEALS WHAT’S NEXT AFTER GOVERNING NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR 8 YEARS

“I Voted” stickers sit on the table on the second day of early voting in the 2024 presidential election at the Board of Elections Loop Super Site in Chicago. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Granite State is known for its “First-in-the-nation” primary contest and midnight canvassing on Election Day in the small community of Dixville Notch.

“We want to stay ‘First-in-the-nation’,” Gannon, of Sandown, told Fox News Digital.

“That’s a big, important thing. We want our voters to feel: ‘I go out and vote – my vote counts.’”

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Gannon dismissed criticism from state Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, who told WMUR that Republicans should play “fair and square” and claimed state legislature maps are already “very gerrymandered.”

“I think this is yet another example of the Republicans kind of trying to change the system to meet their needs,” she told the outlet.

Gannon disagreed. “She had a statement; ‘they’re trying to steal a vote’ or something – Not the case at all,” he said.

Gannon indicated that if the law were in effect in the contentious 2000 presidential race, the divided electors would’ve benefited Democrats – though Vice President Al Gore took the state under its current winner-take-all system. In 2016, the division would have awarded Donald Trump a lone elector when Hillary Clinton took the state.

“I hope to pick up some Democrat support unless they vote in lockstep. If they’re willing to look at the bill and say ‘jeez, it could benefit either side.’ It’s just going to represent the people more,” he said.

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TRUMP’S ‘GULF OF AMERICA’ BID LEADS TO TEXAS-SIZED SUGGESTION: ‘GULF OF BUC-EE’S’

New Hampshire’s four electors are sworn in by Secretary of State Dave Scanlon, left, as the Electoral College vote takes place in state capitols across the country, in Concord, New Hampshire, on Dec. 17, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

“That’s what we’re all about in New Hampshire, representing the will of the people.”

New Hampshire notably has the largest state legislature in the country at 424 lawmakers. It dwarfs second-place Pennsylvania’s 203-member legislature.

Meanwhile, Democratic state Sen. Debra Altschiler panned the bill and quipped that if New Hampshire wants to follow Maine’s lead in this respect, there are other more progressive initiatives the legislature should take up.

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“This bill is completely out of line with New Hampshire values,” said Altschiller, of Stratham. 

“And if we, as New Hampshire, wanted to follow Maine’s lead, then we would have universal free lunch for all students, and we’d have background checks on firearms purchases. But we don’t have that.”

“So we don’t always take our marching orders from other states.”

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A sign outside the state capital building in Concord, New Hampshire, spotlights the state’s treasured position for the past century in holding the lead-off presidential primary. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

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In the past three presidential cycles, neighboring Maine has awarded its divided electors 3-1 to the Democratic candidate. Each time, Trump won the one elector from the state’s rural, interior, 2nd congressional district.

The opposite has been true in Nebraska in 2020 and 2024, when President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris each scored the single delegate from the Omaha-centric 2nd congressional district. Trump earned the other four delegates – and previous to 2016, all electors were often awarded to the Republican.

With the Republicans holding a 16-8 supermajority in the state Senate, the bill is likely to pass the chamber later this month or in February. The measure would then head to the state House of Representatives, where the GOP also holds a wide majority and where Republican lawmakers will likely be receptive to the legislation.



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New Hampshire

Storms tapering off; Warm Wednesday ahead for NH with scattered evening showers

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Storms tapering off; Warm Wednesday ahead for NH with scattered evening showers


After several rounds of thunderstorms moved through New Hampshire on Tuesday, quieter and milder weather is expected Wednesday. OVERNIGHT Any lingering showers will taper off over the next few hours, with partial clearing overnight.Temperatures will fall into the 40s in northern areas 50s in southern parts of the state. WEDNESDAY Wednesday will start with a mix of clouds and sunshine. Highs are expected to reach the 70s before clouds increase. A system approaching from the west will bring scattered afternoon showers, though severe weather is not expected. UNSETTLED PATTERN CONTINUES LATER THIS WEEKThe unsettled pattern continues Thursday, with slightly cooler air, more clouds and occasional showers.By Friday, brighter conditions return, with highs rebounding into the mid to upper 70s. Temperatures will generally remain in the 60s and 70s into the weekend, with periodic chances for showers. Saturday currently looks like the driest day.This unsettled stretch is expected to end as a front moves through New Hampshire Sunday afternoon into the evening, shifting winds to the northwest just in time for Marathon Monday.Be weather aware! Download the WMUR app and turn on push notifications. You can choose to receive weather alerts for your geolocation and/or up to three ZIP codes. In addition, you can receive word when precipitation is coming to your area.Get storm coverage through the free Very Local app on your smart TV.Follow the Storm Watch 9 team on social media:Mike Haddad: Facebook | XKevin Skarupa: Facebook | XHayley LaPoint: Facebook | XJacqueline Thomas: Facebook | XMatt Hoenig: Facebook | X

After several rounds of thunderstorms moved through New Hampshire on Tuesday, quieter and milder weather is expected Wednesday.

OVERNIGHT

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Any lingering showers will taper off over the next few hours, with partial clearing overnight.

Temperatures will fall into the 40s in northern areas 50s in southern parts of the state.

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday will start with a mix of clouds and sunshine.

Highs are expected to reach the 70s before clouds increase.

A system approaching from the west will bring scattered afternoon showers, though severe weather is not expected.

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UNSETTLED PATTERN CONTINUES LATER THIS WEEK

The unsettled pattern continues Thursday, with slightly cooler air, more clouds and occasional showers.

By Friday, brighter conditions return, with highs rebounding into the mid to upper 70s.

Temperatures will generally remain in the 60s and 70s into the weekend, with periodic chances for showers. Saturday currently looks like the driest day.

This unsettled stretch is expected to end as a front moves through New Hampshire Sunday afternoon into the evening, shifting winds to the northwest just in time for Marathon Monday.

Be weather aware! Download the WMUR app and turn on push notifications. You can choose to receive weather alerts for your geolocation and/or up to three ZIP codes. In addition, you can receive word when precipitation is coming to your area.

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Get storm coverage through the free Very Local app on your smart TV.

Follow the Storm Watch 9 team on social media:



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New Hampshire

New Hampshire towns opt out of hosting casinos – Valley News

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New Hampshire towns opt out of hosting casinos – Valley News


Eight New Hampshire municipalities have moved to block the opening of casinos within their borders, taking advantage of a new state law that gives communities the power to opt out of hosting gambling establishments.

Amy Manzelli, president of the board of Granite Staters for Responsible Gaming, said the law, which took effect last year, has been widely welcomed by residents who value the ability to have a direct say in which establishments shape the character of their town or city.

“In New Hampshire, there’s a pretty deep and passionate vein of local control,” she said.

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Henniker, N.H., Candia, N.H., Bedford, N.H., Barrington, N.H., Hancock, N.H., New London and Littleton, N.H., voted to bar casinos within their municipal boundaries. The city of Portsmouth, N.H., moved to block gambling establishments within its city limits within three months of House Bill 737 being signed into law by the governor.

Conway, N.H., is expected to hold a similar vote on April 14.

This is separate from the option towns and cities have to opt out of Keno, a state-run lottery game.

State Rep. Bill Boyd, R-Merrimack, who sponsored both the casino opt-out bill and the legislation allowing social districts in municipalities last year, said the two laws share the same philosophy: giving towns more control over what is allowed within their boundaries.

“I’m not surprised, but I’m very happy with the immediate engagement because it tells me that people are paying attention to local control and how they want their communities to look,” Boyd said of the number of towns that have already acted under the new law.

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When gaming establishments were first legalized in New Hampshire, they were envisioned as small, locally-owned operations. The industry has since grown dramatically, with gaming halls now functioning as large-scale entertainment venues complete with restaurants and live shows. New Hampshire’s gaming industry is on track to become a $1.1 billion market within three years, according to experts.

That rapid growth has left many communities uneasy about the demands large gambling venues could place on local infrastructure, including emergency services and traffic management, Manzelli said.

“New Hampshire doesn’t really have a great mechanism for making sure municipalities have a way of dealing with those impacts,” she said. “As the gaming industry evolved, the laws were written for your classic ‘Mom and Pop’ type bingo night, very small-scale establishments.”

The law includes a grandfather clause protecting casinos that are already operating or were in the pipeline at the time a community votes to opt out.

In Littleton, plans for a casino proposed by an out-of-state operator have been in development for at least three years. In February, a casino developer, GSG Littleton Propco LLC, purchased a property in town for a gaming establishment, according to state and town records.

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Since those plans predate the town’s opt-out vote, they would not be affected by it, Boyd said.

Under the law as written, it only prevents new casinos from being sited in communities that have passed such a vote.

“Even if towns like Littleton don’t want you, you’ve got 260-some odd cities and towns that exist in the state of New Hampshire. “I would think they (casinos) could find a community that would say, ‘we really want you to come to our community,’ and they will welcome them with open arms and work with their local system to make the facility happen,” Boyd said.



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New Hampshire

General John Stark Day celebrated in NH

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General John Stark Day celebrated in NH


General John Stark Day celebrated in New Hampshire

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TRAFFIC AND INTERDICT ILLEGAL ACTIVITY MORE EFFICIENTLY. TODAY, THE GRANITE STATE CELEBRATES THE LEGACY OF GENERAL JOHN STARK. THE SECOND MONDAY OF APRIL IS OBSERVED AS GENERAL JOHN STARK DAY. HE WAS A HERO OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND IS CREDITED WITH WRITING THE WORDS THAT BECAME NEW HAMPSHIRE’S MOTTO. HE WROTE, QUOTE, LIVE FREE OR DIE. DEATH IS NOT THE WORST OF EVILS, WHICH WAS LATER SHORTENED TO LIVE FREE OR DIE. A LOT OF PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY, EVERY GENERATION, MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SERVED, ARE WHY WE ARE FREE. IT’S NOT JUST GENERAL STARK. HE SHOWED US THE WAY AND GENERAL WASHINGTON, BUT EVERY GENERATION OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY HAVE ENSURED THAT FREEDOM. STARK IS MOST WELL KNOWN FOR SERVICE AT THE BATTLE OF BENNINGT

The Granite State honored the legacy of Gen. John Stark on Monday. Gen. John Stark Day is observed on the second Monday in April. Stark was a hero of the American Revolution and is credited with writing the words that became New Hampshire’s state motto. He wrote “Live Free or Die: Death is not the worst of evils,” later shortened to “Live Free or Die.”>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go

The Granite State honored the legacy of Gen. John Stark on Monday.

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Gen. John Stark Day is observed on the second Monday in April.

Stark was a hero of the American Revolution and is credited with writing the words that became New Hampshire’s state motto. He wrote “Live Free or Die: Death is not the worst of evils,” later shortened to “Live Free or Die.”

>> Download the free WMUR app to get updates on the go

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“A lot of people in our country, every generation, men and women who have served, are why we are free,” said Gov. Kelly Ayotte. “It’s not just General John Stark. He showed us the way, and General Washington, but every generation of men and women who have served our country have ensured that freedom.”

Stark is known for his service at the Battle of Bennington in Vermont.

He retired in 1810 and died in Manchester in 1822.

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