Voting Rights

Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. And yet, throughout our history we have excluded indispensable voices from this fundamental right. Today, states continue to make it harder for people to vote.

Placeholder image

Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. And yet, throughout our history we have excluded indispensable voices from this fundamental right. African-Americans, women, and young people all risked their lives for and eventually gained the right to vote. Voter turnout in the 2008 election was the most racially diverse in American history, closing the longstanding gap between white and minority voter participation. In response to this historic moment, however, lawmakers nationwide have erected more barriers to the ballot box.

States are making it harder and harder for people to vote, virtually guaranteeing that many people won’t actually have the right at all. Poll taxes and literacy tests have given way to more modern voter suppression tactics packaged as voter ID laws and restrictions to voter registration. These restrictions target particular populations, including college and university students, the elderly, transgender people, people who are differently abled, and many others. The American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire is actively working to defend the right to vote and preserve this cornerstone of democracy for all eligible New Hampshire citizens.

The Latest

Press Release
Placeholder image

ACLU, voting rights groups, and voters file federal lawsuit challenging unconstitutional New Hampshire voting law

Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy — and laws like this, which create unconstitutional roadblocks to voting and which could stop thousands of eligible voters from participating in an election, have no place in our state.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights
Press Release
Placeholder image

ACLU-NH Statement on Signing of Bill Attacking Voting Rights

Governor Sununu signed HB 1569, a bill that would create needless barriers to vote.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights
Press Release
Placeholder image

ACLU-NH Files Amicus Briefing in Gerrymandering Lawsuit

The ACLU of New Hampshire filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the partisan gerrymandering lawsuit, Miles Brown, et al v. Secretary of State, sending the court its previously-commissioned analysis.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights
Press Release
Placeholder image

ACLU-NH files lawsuit challenging state’s unconstitutional voting bill – SB 418

Issue Areas: Voting Rights
Court Case
Feb 18, 2026

United States v. New Hampshire Secretary of State

In a “friend of the court” brief filed on February 13, 2026, we’re challenging the federal government’s attempt to access New Hampshire’s unredacted voter file—including information like voters’ driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The brief was filed on behalf of the ACLU of New Hampshire and the League of Women Voter of New Hampshire. These groups are represented by lawyers from the Campaign Legal Center, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the national ACLU, and the ACLU of New Hampshire. In early September 2025, New Hampshire's Secretary of State denied a request by the Trump administration to turn over sensitive voter information. This denial followed an exchange between the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s Office and the Trump administration beginning on June 25, 2025, when Trump administration officials sent requests for voter files to at least nine states (including New Hampshire), many of them considered swing states in upcoming elections. On September 25, 2025, the U.S. DOJ filed a lawsuit in federal court attempting to force the New Hampshire Secretary of State to share the unredacted voter file. This friend-of-the court brief supports the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s motion to dismiss the case. The brief explains that the Trump administration's lawsuit is part of a nationwide campaign to sweep up voter rolls, one of many tactics in the administration’s broader strategy to undermine free and fair elections. Indeed, as explained in this amicus brief, unredacted voter information includes sensitive details about New Hampshire voters, including birthdates, driver's license numbers, and social security numbers. Indeed, federal voting rights laws were designed to create free, fair, and secure elections, including the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (CRA). These federal laws were designed to expand and protect voting rights for all—including vulnerable communities that were once denied the right to vote and remain targets for voter suppression efforts—and ensure public confidence in our elections.  
Court Case
Oct 01, 2024

Coalition for Open Democracy, et al. v. David Scanlan, et al.

Court Case
Jan 20, 2023

Brown v. N.H. Secretary of State

Court Case
Jun 21, 2022

Manuel Espitia, Jr. and Daniel Weeks v David Scanlan, N.H. Secretary of State, et al.