WASHINGTON — New Hampshire lawmakers say they are unable to meet a key Democratic National Committee requirement to remain an early presidential nominating state and are pleading with the party not to respond with stiff penalties.
Democratic leaders in the state had previously attempted to convince the national party to re-think its 2024 presidential primary calendar and a mandate that New Hampshire repeal a state law mandating it hold the first Democratic contest. Those efforts have been unsuccessful.
Now party leaders plan to tell the DNC’s rulemaking committee that New Hampshire Democrats “likely do not have the power to change our election laws” with Republicans in control of the state legislature and governor’s mansion.
“Punishing New Hampshire Democrats, who have no ability to address voting laws in the face of a Republican trifecta in the state, could have dire consequences for Democrats up and down the ticket in 2024,” a letter led by New Hampshire Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy says.
The letter specifically addresses a DNC mandate that New Hampshire expands absentee voting to maintain its position at the front of the calendar. It is one of two election laws that New Hampshire would need to change to keep the national party from limiting its influence in the presidential nominating process.
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Democrats passed a bill that expands access in New Hampshire several years ago when they were in the majority, but the state’s sitting Republican Gov. Chris Sununu rejected it.
“Given Governor Sununu’s 2019 veto, it is highly unlikely that he and the Republicans will change course now because of demands from the DNC,” Soucy wrote. “We believe that the strong Democratic support for no-fault absentee voting shows New
Hampshire Democrats’ commitment to the goals laid out by the DNC.”
The letter bears the signatures of every Democratic state senator in New Hampshire and House Democratic leader in the state. In a joint statement, New Hampshire’s congressional delegation said it “strongly” supports the proposed changes to absentee voting also.
“We urge the DNC to understand the position that we are in and the negative consequences that their requirements will have on Democrats up and down the ticket in 2024,” Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas said.
All four are Democrats.
The lawmakers called the DNC’s attempt to make New Hampshire change its voting laws “both unrealistic and unfairly punitive” given the GOP’s hold on the state’s deliberative bodies and executive office.
Looming DNC deadline
A panel that oversees the presidential primary calendar gave New Hampshire until Jan. 5 to submit a letter signed by the governor and majority leaders of the House and Senate pledging to hold the state’s Democratic presidential contest on Feb. 6, 2024.
The state must also commit to expanding absentee voting in order to keep its spot in the early window.
DNC rules that are expected to be finalized next month specify that New Hampshire must hold its primary three days after South Carolina and on the same day as Nevada. By not meeting the requirement, New Hampshire Democrats risk losing many of their delegates to the national convention.
Democrats in the state have been sparring with the committee and President Joe Biden ever since he proposed to revamp the primary calendar last month to help elevate a more diverse group of voters.
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Hassan and Shaheen then boycotted the White House congressional ball, and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley sent the head of the DNC a terse letter.
Democrats have another month before party members are scheduled to finalize the order at a meeting in Philadelphia. After that vote, state parties that do not comply with the new rules could see their primaries pushed back or have their delegates to the national convention limited.
Georgia and Michigan are among the states that are poised to hold their primaries in the early window of 2024 if they can meet the conditions put forward by the rulemaking panel.
Democrats are holding Feb. 13, 2024 for Georgia’s primary. Michigan is teeing up to hold its contest on Feb. 27.