President Donald Trump’s primetime July 16 speech called into question election security.
Trump unveiled heavily redacted classified documents he said showed Chinese influence, a US intelligence cover-up, and election fraud in Michigan. But there’s no evidence of his claims.
This week we asked readers: How confident are you that New Hampshire’s election process is fair and secure?
Here’s what they had to say…
“Elections in NH have been safe for many years. However, the conspiracy attempts on the national level filter down to state and local election chatter. That is Trump’s hope: stoke doubt and fear when you are running scared.” — K. Campbell
“I think NH’s election process is extremely safe and secure. Any aspersions cast against it are a ploy for Trump and the Republicans to control the election in their favor.” — Jane S., Amherst, NH
“Legitimate studies, think tanks, and other credible sources (NOT conspiracy theories) have found that we have less than 1% voter fraud in this country. I am confident that our Secretary of State and election workers can ensure secure handling of our elections as they have always done. Our problem is that we have a President who does not want to accept our two-party system. Without a two-party (or multi-party) system, our government becomes authoritarian, and sadly, he seems to be doing everything he can to move in that direction.” — Diane Gioseffi
“I have had great confidence in the past, but more doubts with the arrival of Trump, Musk, Project 2025 architects, and supporters.” — Kathy, registered and voting, in Nashua
“Why are the Democrats not voting for the Save America Act when we have similar requirements for our elections in NH?” — Don Franklin
“Very confident!” — Katharine Webster
“I have complete confidence in our election system, particularly in small towns where everyone knows almost everybody else, at least by sight. Any errors that might occur would probably arise from computer malfunction and be discovered by human supervisors. The concern about elections is a manufactured issue for political purposes.” — JoAnn Carlson
“Very confident. So-called ‘voter fraud’ is less than .01% in the country. Trump can’t get over the fact that he lost, and most of the people being chosen for the current administration refuse to say that Biden won, just that he was certified. If there’s any attempted voter fraud going on, it’s in the nation’s capital. Trump wants to lay the groundwork for sending in troops or whomever to ‘oversee’ the elections, and to possibly declare martial law in order to keep himself and his cronies in office, most of whom are completely unfit for the job. Our elections are safe and secure, always have been.” — David Masters
“I came from Ohio 4 years ago where the system is as corrupt as it can be, including the politicians in power self-serving themselves and no others! Since coming to New Hampshire, I’ve seen the current politicians in power being as self-serving as Ohio was. However, the system is as secure and professional as I’ve seen anywhere, at least in Charlestown. The town clerk knows me from our dealings, but I still have to show the proper identification during sign-in at the voting place. I’m just a number at that point, and that’s what I would expect and demand. I was even able to vote in Vietnam during the presidential election of that year (?) by absentee vote. That’s how far back I go with election integrity! If there’s a problem with voting in general, it’s the people being voted into power by the people, not the process!” — Mike Blackledge, Charlestown
“As an election worker, I can attest to NH’s elections being free and fair. It is excruciatingly difficult to hear complaints about fraud in elections in NH. There are so many hoops to jump through, checks and balances, and built-in safeguards that make sure everything is done correctly and without mistakes. There is just no way to fake it! It would be obvious.” — Sharon Reed-Erickson, Rochester
“Worked many years as a ballot clerk, dealt with changes in the laws every year and enjoyed the excitement of seeing neighbors come in to vote. My opinion is NH voting is completely safe. Most people forget that following a vote, all of the new voter same-day registrations are kept separate and tracked to ensure the registrations are legal; if not, adjustments to vote totals are made. These segregated ballots can be identified to a voter if necessary. This conversation of illegal voting is very hard to believe based on the process followed by every city and town. The next time you hear a neighbor talk about fraud, retell this story and ask them how fraud is possible? Finding invalid votes in NH is very rare.” — Dan Roy
“People unfamiliar with NH voting should calm down and observe the process. It works well partly because so many local citizens are willing to volunteer. There’s plenty to do!” — Frances Taylor
“I feel very confident that the election process in New Hampshire is fair and secure. Trump and the GOP are running scared and just pulling out any and every backhanded move they can think of to make it more difficult for people to vote, especially less affluent and non-white voters. Trump is a cheater and a coward.” — Jane Duggan
“Very confident they are secure. Anyone saying that they are not is fear-mongering!” — Jane Green
“New Hampshire senators and representatives should by all means support the ‘SAVE Act,’ if they truly want to ensure a ‘fair election’ in New Hampshire. REMEMBER the Bush-Gore presidential race—it was settled by a mere five thousand plus votes. Numbers matter!! Let’s just make sure the legitimate votes are being counted.” — Joan Shaughnessey
“It never fails to amaze me how people that have never worked within a system can confidently criticize it from a position of ignorance. This is the way of people that criticize the security of our elections. Erratic and unfounded claims abound with critics stating coldly and stoically that the entire process is full of holes.” — Bruce Denis
“This question would not have been asked before the present political nonsense because it is nothing more than a fairy tale, and I can’t believe how many people buy into it.” — Marci Smoger
“Anyone who is worried about the security of NH elections should volunteer to be an election observer. They would be reassured pretty quickly!” — Louise Palmer
“Yes, I am confident that New Hampshire’s election process is fair and secure. I have served as an election officer on several occasions and seen nothing inappropriate.” — William Bryk
“I believe our election process in New Hampshire is fair and completely secure; as one of the three supervisors of the checklist in my town, I see firsthand the many safeguards in our system that make election fraud virtually impossible. Regardless of the doubt cast over our election process, a look at the facts from exhaustive research shows that voter fraud is infinitesimally rare as a result of these safeguards, not just in New Hampshire, but across the country. And I believe our election workers take their jobs very seriously and are dedicated to accuracy and to our democratic process.” — Mary Livingston, Langdon
