New Hampshire Bills to Move Non-Presidential Primary to an Earlier Month Unlikely to Pass

On June 5, the New Hampshire House defeated SB 222 by 151-168.  It would have moved the non-presidential primary from September to June.

House bills to move that primary also have failed to pass.  Those bills are HB 481 and HB 408.

All three of these bills harm ballot access for minor party and independent candidates.  They all automatically move the declaration of candidacy from June to earlier months.  Forcing independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties to file declarations in the spring, before they have decided whom to run, would inhibit those candidacies.

It is somewhat surprising that these bills failed, because in 2021 the legislature had passed a bill moving the non-presidential primary to June.  But then-Governor Chris Sununu had vetoed it.  Sununu is no longer Governor.