CONCORD, N.H. -- The New Hampshire Secretary of State's Office is launching a new voter hotline to help people register to vote and request absentee ballots.

The move was made because the state anticipates many more people voting absentee because of concerns about COVID-19. Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said that if Granite State residents can't print out forms from the internet, they can call to request a voter registration packet or an absentee ballot.

"They can simply make a phone call to their city or town clerk, or they can call the Secretary of State's office," he said. "And this year, this office is going to have a voter hotline just for that specific purpose."

The number for the Secretary of State's new voter hotline is 833-726-0034. The state primary is Sept. 8, and the U.S. general election is Nov. 3.

Once citizens are registered to vote, the absentee ballot is a two-part process. They'll first need to apply for a ballot. In it, they must include a reason for voting absentee -- and the coronavirus is considered a valid reason. They can drop that application off at their local town or city clerk's office or mail it in, and they then will receive a ballot in the mail.

Scanlan said one big obstacle to voting absentee was recently resolved.

"There was a bill that was just recently passed by the Legislature to help deal with the COVID situation," he said, "which allows the local election officials to pre-process absentee ballots on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday before the election."

In the past, officials processed all ballots on Election Day. Now, Scanlan said, election officials can contact a voter if their ballot wasn't properly executed, so the voter can fix it. More information about the election by state is also on the AARP website at aarp.org/election2020, or on the Secretary of State's website, sos.nh.gov/Elections.aspx.


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A U.S. Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity from prosecution is raising concerns about the power of the executive branch - and the future of democracy. In one of its final decisions of the term, the majority of justices ruled in Trump versus United States that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution when performing "official acts."

Adrienne Evans, executive director of United Vision for Idaho, said this means the president can break the law and not worry about being investigated.

"Do we trust whomever is elected next not to use that power? Because right now," she explained, "everything hinges not that the power has been granted but will there be a president that we have who will not use that power to their favor?"

In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the ruling makes the president a "king above the law."

Evans noted this issue has been compounded by the politicization of the courts, and added that the courts have been weaponized to serve the party in power.

"We have always lived in a system where we had relatively stable systems of checks and balances. What this latest decision by the Supreme Court did was it put all of the power in the hands of the executive and, in subsequent rulings, also undermined the administration of the state," she continued.

Evans said Congress could take steps to rein in the Supreme Court by instituting term limits, creating an enforceable code of ethics and expanding the number of justices on the court, but added that Congress will have to act soon to prevent a worst-case scenario in which democracy erodes completely.

"It's going to take the will of the people demanding that their congressional representatives vote for those measures, that we take this moment as a dire warning that we have to reset course if we still believe that democracy is our best path forward," she said.

In a significant turnaround, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has reversed its stance on ballot dropboxes - making them legal again in a 4-3 ruling.

Two years ago, when conservatives controlled the court, the justices restricted the use of dropboxes. The ruling said they could only be placed in local election clerks' offices, and a voter had to return their own ballot in person. However, when Justice Janet Protasiewicz was elected last April, control shifted on the high court.

Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, is pleased with the decision and said his organization has known all along dropboxes are safe and improve voting access.

"They are a way that the electorate can access our democracy when it isn't necessarily so convenient," Ramos argued. "For our health care workers, the rural community, single parents out there."

Conservative members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court were against reviewing the case, stressing the significance of upholding and respecting legal precedent.

Luke Berg, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, condemned the ruling, calling it "one of the worst decisions from the court in recent memory." He is convinced it was political and not what he thinks a court should be doing.

"I think it's deeply ironic that the court announced, by judicial fiat, its policy preference on a voting issue on the same day that it issued an opinion praising separation of powers, and then violated those very principles in the other opinion it issued," Berg asserted.

Ramos maintained the decision to make ballot boxes more widely available sends a clear message not only to the people of Wisconsin but the entire country.

"Especially after the year we've had, with bringing new maps, after living under the extreme partisan gerrymander that we've lived under for over a decade," Ramos emphasized. "It's a message of hope."

Ramos added he is proud of the volunteers, activists and key organizations who worked to bring about the change.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.


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Arizona's 50+ voters will be key in determining who wins the presidential election in November.

A new AARP Arizona poll, which was commissioned before the recent debate debacle, found former President Donald Trump leading President Joe Biden by eight percentage pointed.

Bob Ward, partner at the research firm Fabrizio Ward, said Arizona has a high number of older voters, which have historically made their voices heard but are not necessarily party-loyal. He pointed out one of the poll findings worth noting is women over the age of 50 could play a pivotal role in tipping the scales.

"There is a gender gap, and if we look at women over 50, they are tied on the presidential race," Ward reported. "Both Trump and Biden are at 42% among women 50+ and Trump has more than a 22-point lead among men 50+."

Ward added Trump's lead among older Arizona voters is 10 points ahead of Biden, with most citing immigration and border security as the most important issue, followed by inflation and rising prices and threats to democracy. Meanwhile, Arizona Hispanic voters are helping Biden lead over Trump, 48% to 37% respectively.

Another highly anticipated contest is the Senate race between Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake. Poll results showed Gallego holds a narrow lead over Lake. The gender gap among 50+ voters is also significant, with women supporting Gallego by 12 percentage points and men preferring Lake by 15. Gallego has been an advocate for abortion rights and Lake has been a strong proponent for increased border security.

Jeff Liszt, partner at Impact Research, said 50+ voters are highly motivated and will make their voice heard.

"If you look at the people that are 10 out of 10, extremely motivated to vote, the percentage of voters over 50, who are 10 out of 10 is 86%," Liszt explained. "That is 20 points higher than the 66% of voters under age 50 who tell us they are 10 out of 10 motivated to vote."

Liszt called it a huge gap and added it will be interesting to see whether younger voters will show up and vote, adding he has confidence in older voters in the Grand Canyon State.


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