NH Secretary of State Bill Gardner tells concerned citizens he does not want the ‘Election Integrity Commission’ to publicly share personal voter info but he still plans to share voter file with commission

CONCORD, NH – NH Secretary of State Bill Gardner told concerned citizens today that he does not approve of the ‘Election Integrity Commission’ plan to publicly distribute personal voter data. The commission sent a letter to all 50 states last week requesting them to release personally identifying voter information, which it will then make public. Gardner serves on the commission and last week stated he will share the voter file with the commission. The NH ACLU filed a lawsuit for a temporary injunction on the matter earlier today to prevent him from doing so.

GSP Video: NH SOS Gardner Does Not Approve of Public Distribution of Voter Lists He Plans to Give to Sham Commission

Video Transcript, July 6, 2017, NH Secretary of State’s Office

Mo Baxley of Laconia, NH: “You’re telling us that you will not, as a commission member – which I’m not sure you should be wearing both hats – you’re saying that you will not allow this information to be made public in any way, shape, or form. Can you guarantee us, with our fears, that you’ll abide by those laws, you’ll respect the spirit of those laws, and protect the privacy of New Hampshire voters?”

NH SOS Bill Gardner: [mumble]

Baxley: “To your best?”

Gardner: “I, I will make sure …”

Baxley: “You’re making me nervous here!” [laughter]

Gardner: “I will make sure that that information is not gonna be put in the public domain. So, I don’t know how else, how else to put it. “

Baxley: “That’s good, that’s a good guarantee, and I appreciate that.”

Gardner: “I don’t want that information to be that somebody –you know. I don’t want it to be put online. I don’t. And, and, it was not – It, I mean I didn’t expect that, that it would be.”

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Statement from Granite State Progress Executive Director Zandra Rice Hawkins: “We are pleased to hear Secretary Gardner share the grave concerns community members have about the public distribution of their personal voting information. We remain concerned about the overall tenor of the commission and the lack of transparency about what it seeks to do. We call on all of the Commission members to speak out about the goals of this massive data collection and articulate exactly what they plan to do with this information once collected. Americans should be able to have confidence that this commission will not further jeopardize our elections and thus the commission should first outline its objectives and strategies before casting a wide net for voter data, especially when security experts have stated that the process selected is shaky and unsecure.”

Media outlets may request the entire video by emailing zandra@granitestateprogress.org with a FTP site.

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Granite State Progress is a progressive advocacy organization that addresses issues of immediate state and local concern. Granite State Progress works as a communications hub for the progressive community to provide a strong, credible voice in advancing progressive solutions to critical community problems. Press releases online at www.GraniteStateProgress.org.