Current:Home > ScamsNew Hampshire Senate votes to move state primary from September to June. The House wants August-InfoLens
New Hampshire Senate votes to move state primary from September to June. The House wants August
View Date:2024-12-23 11:57:25
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Both the New Hampshire House and Senate agree that the short window between the primary and general election for state and local offices should be widened, but they have different dates in mind.
In contrast to its first-in-the-nation presidential primary, New Hampshire has one of the nation’s latest primary elections for other offices. Under current law, the state primary is held the second Tuesday in September, just eight weeks before the general election. The House passed a bill last month that would move the date to the third Tuesday in August, but the Senate passed its own measure Thursday that would move it to the second Tuesday in June.
Sen. Daryl Abbas said the earlier date would help voters make more informed choices in November and would give candidates more time to broaden their messages beyond their party bases.
“Having three more months of campaign time will afford candidates multiple opportunities for the public to get to know them and understand their position on important issues,” he said.
Republican Sen. Regina Birdsell spoke against the bill, arguing it would hurt incumbent senators who would still be at the Statehouse while their opponents were on the campaign trail. The legislative session generally ends in late June.
“Our opponents are out there campaigning while we’re trying to do our business, so I am very concerned that this just gives a disadvantage to us,” said Birdsell, a Republican from Hampstead.
Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a bill in 2021 that would have moved the state primary to the first Tuesday in August. At the time, he said the election should not be moved to the middle of summer when voters are focused on vacations, not politics. He also said that moving the date to the summer could make it harder for communities to recruit poll workers and election day volunteers.
veryGood! (18)
Related
- ‘Heretic’ and Hugh Grant debut with $11 million, but ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ tops box office again
- Behind the lines of red-hot wildfires, volunteers save animals with a warm heart and a cool head
- Transit officials say taxi driver drove onto tracks as train was approaching and was killed
- Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin’s Fiancé Hospitalized With Infection Months After Skiing Accident
- Georgia's humbling loss to Mississippi leads college football winners and losers for Week 11
- Missouri bans sale of Delta-8 THC and other unregulated CBD intoxicants
- Unregulated oilfield power lines are suspected of sparking Texas wildfires
- Simone Biles' 2024 Olympics Necklace Proves She's the GOAT After Gymnastics Gold Medal Win
- Oil Industry Asks Trump to Repeal Major Climate Policies
- No. 1 Iga Swiatek falls to Qinwen Zheng at the Olympics. Queen has shot at gold
Ranking
- Texas now tops in SEC? Miami in trouble? Five overreactions to college football Week 11
- Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin’s Fiancé Hospitalized With Infection Months After Skiing Accident
- PHOTO COLLECTION: At a home for India’s unwanted elders, faces of pain and resilience
- Paris Olympics: Simone Biles, Team USA gymnastics draw record numbers for NBC
- Alexandra Daddario Shares Candid Photo of Her Postpartum Body 6 Days After Giving Birth
- You're likely paying way more for orange juice: Here's why, and what's being done about it
- After Gershkovich and Whelan freed, this American teacher remains in Russian custody
- Russia releases US journalist and other Americans and dissidents in massive 24-person prisoner swap
Recommendation
-
Black women notch historic Senate wins in an election year defined by potential firsts
-
On golf's first day at Paris Olympics, an 'awesome atmosphere' stole the show
-
Kendall Jenner and Ex Devin Booker Spotted in Each Other’s Videos From 2024 Olympics Gymnastics Final
-
Why do Olympic swimmers wear big parkas before racing? Warmth and personal pizzazz
-
Sean Diddy Combs' Lawyers File New Motion for Bail, Claiming Evidence Depicts a Consensual Relationship
-
Why do Olympic swimmers wear big parkas before racing? Warmth and personal pizzazz
-
The number of Americans filing for jobless claims hits highest level in a year
-
Brittney Griner: ‘Head over heels’ for Americans coming home in prisoner swap