Following a dramatic election cycle that reshaped the political landscape of the Granite State, 16 candidates have formally requested recounts for tight New Hampshire House races.
Before Election Day, Republicans held a 215-177 majority in the state legislature, but preliminary tallies point toward a 291-108 Democratic majority, pending the outcome of these ongoing recounts which could shift the final partisan split.
New Hampshire boasts the largest state legislature in the country with 424 combined seats across the House and Senate. State law allows any candidate who loses an initial count by 20% or less of the total votes to petition for a recount by the Friday following the election.
Secretary of State David Scanlan and Deputy Secretary of State Brendan O’Donnell oversee the recount operations at the State Archives building in Concord. Two initial contests have already finished, reaffirming the original winners in Farmington and Moultonborough.
The remaining 14 contests span multiple districts where margins were razor-thin, with some candidates losing their preliminary leads by as few as two votes.
On Monday, a team consisting of Secretary of State’s Office employees alongside bipartisan volunteers convened at the State Archives building in Concord to sort through thousands of paper ballots.
Authorized poll watchers representing both major political parties sit closely observing the process. Overhead cameras project live video feeds of the manual ballot handling directly onto computer monitors for public and partisan scrutiny.
If any observer flags an issue regarding how a specific ballot was interpreted or counted, the dispute is escalated directly to the state’s Ballot Law Commission for formal resolution.
Secretary of State David Scanlan stated that he anticipates the full slate of 16 recounts will take approximately two weeks to complete. Officials are scheduled to process ballots every weekday except Wednesday, which is observed as Veterans Day.
While the New Hampshire State Senate saw Democrats gain seven seats to secure a 15-9 majority without a single recount request, the House features intense battles across several multi-seat districts and towns where voters select multiple candidates.
In Salem, a sprawling 12-way race for nine seats saw Republican Edward Huminick fall just shy of Democrat Donna Loranger by a margin of 5,947 to 5,954 votes. Similarly, in Derry’s 20-way contest for 10 seats, Republican Jodi Nelson missed securing a seat by just two votes with 5,358 total ballots.
Other notable districts currently undergoing re-examination include Barrington, New Durham, and Strafford, where Republican Michael Harington led Thom Flynn 4,677 to 4,649. In Loudon, Boscawen, and Canterbury, Democrat Harold Tuttle held a narrow edge over Republican Alvin See.
Additional House recounts are underway in districts covering Grafton, Alexandria, and Hebron; Franklin Wards 1, 2, and 3; Kingston; Littleton, Sugar Hill, and Lyman; Andover, Danbury, and Webster; and Gilmanton, Gilford, and part of Laconia.
Detailed scheduling information and updates are maintained through the official Secretary of State’s Office recount schedule.
State election officials will continue working through the remaining ballots in Concord through the end of the two-week administrative window.
