CONCORD, N.H. – 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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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.’”

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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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.

“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)

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.

NORTH WOODSTOCK, N.H. — An annual architectural celebration of ice is up and running again in New Hampshire and several other states.

Ice Castles, which are both temporary art installations and tourist attractions, feature towers, tunnels, archways and caves, all created by growing, harvesting and arranging thousands of icicles and then blasting them with sprinklers.

The company behind the displays has expanded since its first installation in 2011. This year it has operations in Utah, Minnesota, two locations in Colorado and New Hampshire, where the site includes a snow tubing hill and ice bar. After a mild winter last year, officials were thrilled that temperatures were cold enough to open earlier this season.

“It’s one of the biggest ice castles we’ve ever built,” said Jared Henningsen, the company’s vice president for operations. “We’re looking at about 25 million pounds of ice spread over two acres.”

As a winter storm brought biting cold and wet snow to the South, visitors to the New Hampshire castle bundled up to explore its twists and turns Friday.

Julia Jones of Gloucester, Massachusetts, said she travels to northern New Hampshire several times a year but had not experienced the ice castles until her opening-day visit.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said. “Honestly I didn’t think it was gonna be this big.”

Jessica Sullivan, of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, also was surprised, and not just by the frozen environment. Her boyfriend, Brian Jacques, proposed to her during their visit.

“It’s a beautiful place,” said Jacques, who got the “yes” he was hoping for. “I definitely thought, this is the time and place to do it.”

By day the walls and other structures shine with a pale blue hue. After darkness falls, lights embedded within the ice glow pink, purple and green.

“Once you enter into an ice castle, you’re transitioning into something that’s totally immersive and unlike something that most guests have ever seen,” Henningsen said. “I think it inspires people.”

The search is expected to continue Sunday for a woman believed to have fallen through the ice at a New Hampshire pond and likely drowned.

The incident at Big Island Pond in Atkinson began just before 5:30 p.m., when first responders were called to Chase Island Road for reports of someone yelling for help.

New Hampshire State Police said based on a preliminary investigation, marine patrol officers believe the woman fell through the ice and likely drowned. She has not yet been found, with the search suspended late Saturday night.

The woman’s family is expected to meet with police Sunday morning. The woman’s name has not been released.

State police are urging people to be careful with frozen bodies of water, reminding everyone that all ice is potentially dangerous.

There should be a minimum of 6 inches of hard ice before someone sets foot onto it. And even if it’s thick, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s strong.

There are safety tips to follow during ice-related activities.

“Don’t ever go alone. Always have a phone with you. Don’t ever go alone and if you do happen to fall in, there are methods to try and get yourself out, keep your elbows on the ice and just kick with your feet and do your best to get back up on that ice, and when you’re on the ice, don’t stand up, roll your way back to shore,” explained Chief Thomas Cahill of the Cambridge Fire Department.

Outdoor skating conditions are expected to be ideal this weekend, but that’s not an excuse to be reckless.

Anyone with additional information that may assist the ongoing investigation is asked to contact Marine Patrol Sgt. Nicholas Haroutunian at 603-227-2112 or Nicholas.M.Haroutunian@DOS.NH.GOV.