Unvetted claims folded into NH voter confidence draft report

CONCORD — The final report being drafted by the Special Committee on Voter Confidence isn't finished yet. But it's getting close. And the process is fueling concerns about the spread of misinformation.

The draft report doesn't just outline the committee's findings and recommendations. It also recites numerous election-related claims without regard for whether they are true or false.

The claims were made by members of the public during a series of meetings the committee held over the summer. The claims are listed in a roughly three-page summary that describes the public's comments without adding any discussion or analysis.

The summary refers to "potentially serious concerns" found by "citizen audits," alludes to "out-of-state people/students voting in NH elections" and conjures the image of "vote tabulations taking place un-monitored in the back of polling places," according to a recent draft reviewed by Granite Memo and discussed during a public meeting Tuesday. The summary also notes that unnamed people have described "voting machines" as a "black box" and "old technology" with vulnerabilities.

The report doesn't clearly attribute those claims, doesn't explain what the claims mean and doesn't present any direct criticism or rebuttal, even though multiple committee members said they believe the summary includes unreliable information.