Media Contact

Ariana Schechter, 603-227-6679

March 11, 2020

 ACLU Voter 2020 unveils website, aclunhvoter.org to educate voters on candidate positions

Two candidates already responded to ACLU-NH’s civil rights questionnaire  

CONCORD, N.H. – The ACLU of New Hampshire today launched its first ever gubernatorial campaign engagement, ACLU Voter 2020, to ensure civil rights are front and center during the 2020 NH gubernatorial primary and election. Through the ACLU Voter 2020 campaign, the organization will elevate criminal justice reform, voting rights, immigrant’s rights, privacy, racial justice, and LGBTQ+ rights. 

“ACLU Voter 2020 is a campaign to educate and energize the many supporters of civil rights throughout the state, amplify civil rights in the electoral narrative, and encourage candidates to take bold stances to protect and defend civil liberties,” said Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire. “While we do not and will not endorse or oppose individual candidates or parties, we want to ensure they are all talking about civil rights issues that are vital to the Granite State.”

The ACLU of New Hampshire unveiled its ACLU Voter platform, and will strongly encourage candidates to adopt bold policies in the six issue areas, including:

  • Codifying the NH Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Unit in statute, strengthening its authority to include subpoena power, and supporting state budget funding for additional full-time staff.
  • Preventing third parties from sharing individuals’ private information with the government without a search warrant or the individual’s consent.
  • Allowing for self-attestation in the correction of gender markers on NH government-issued ID documents, including drivers’ licenses and birth records.
  • Requiring NH law enforcement agencies to notify the public every time they are informed of an immigration checkpoint by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in NH.
  • Helping to end mass incarceration by instituting “good time” and allowing inmates to earn time off their sentence for good behavior.
  • Allowing for early voting and no-excuse absentee voting in New Hampshire. 

The organization will support and encourage volunteers throughout the Granite State to meet with the candidates face-to-face as they campaign and record candidates’ answers on what they will do to protect and advance civil rights. The goal is to have each candidate hear directly from New Hampshire voters and ensure that they adopt pro-civil liberties policies.

The ACLU Voter 2020 website will provide the ability to compare candidate answers to the questions, and will link to volunteer-captured videos of candidates answering ACLU Voters’ questions.