On September 12, a New Hampshire House subcommittee heard testimony on HB 48, a bill to ease the definition of “political party.” After hearing from five witnesses, the subcommittee decided the ballot access issue is important enough to schedule another hearing. That hearing will be on September 20, and is likely to come up with a final version of the bill.

Key facts brought out in the hearing were: (1) New Hampshire was one of only four states in November 2006 in which, for all statewide offices, only Democrats and Republicans were on the ballot; (2) In November 2004, only one state (Oklahoma) had fewer choices on its presidential ballot than New Hampshire did; (3) New Hampshire is one of only four states in which, continuously for the past ten years, only the Democratic and Republican Parties have been qualified.