AG orders a monitor for Bedford's state primary after 2020 flubs
Aug. 8—New Hampshire's top election official will appoint a monitor to ensure that the upcoming primary election in Bedford is properly run, Attorney General John Formella announced Tuesday.
The announcement of a monitor is the latest for Bedford, which has endured a series of embarrassing revelations about mistakes related to the November 2020 general election.
Formella cited "significant deficiencies" the 2020 election in Bedford, which with 22,700 residents is the fifth-largest municipality in Hillsborough County.
Throughout the country, elections have come under scrutiny following claims by former president Donald Trump that question the legitimacy of his defeat in 2020. An Attorney General review of the circumstances found nothing intentional but termed the failure to count 200 ballots a "serious mistake."
"This office's conclusion has not changed — the failure to count the absentee ballots was an inadvertent mistake by election officials," a statement reads.
The error did not affect the outcome of any race.
The problems include:
* The discovery of 188 absentee ballots that were not counted and therefore not cast on election day. An election official had inadvertently moved a tray, which led to the ballots not being counted.
* The discovery of the November 2020 general election ballots on the morning of a special election on Sept. 7. Those ballots had already been counted, so no further investigation was necessary.
* Two additional uncounted absentee ballots were discovered in April, when town and state officials officially tallied the 188 ballots. Those two voters, as well as the 188, must be notified that their votes weren't counted in the election.
Formella's office said Secretary of State David Scanlan has yet to appoint a monitor, but they anticipate one in the coming week. State law requires a monitor to be "trained in the conduct of elections."
According to the statement, Scanlan will appoint the election monitor in consultation with Formella. The monitor will have to make and report findings about the Sept. 13 primary election.
