Bill Gardner (politician)

Bill Gardner (born October 26, 1948) is an American politician who was the New Hampshire Secretary of State from 1976 to 2022. In that role, he was in charge of the department that oversees all general elections, primary elections, voter registration and recounts within the state, including the New Hampshire primary. His tenure is the longest of any secretary of state in U.S. history.[1] He is a member of the Democratic Party.[2]

For other people named Bill Gardner, see William Gardner (disambiguation).

Bill Gardner
Secretary of State of New Hampshire
In office
December 2, 1976 – January 10, 2022
Governor
See list
Preceded byEd Kelly (acting)
Succeeded byDavid Scanlan
Member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives
from the 30th Hillsborough district
In office
December 6, 1972 – December 1, 1976
Serving with Mary Sullivan, Edward Clancy, Frank Conway, Dorothy Drewniak
Preceded byWilliam Cullity
John Welch
Walter McDermott
Succeeded byGary Girolimon
Edward Crotty
Rudolph Juneau
Personal details
Born (1948-10-26) October 26, 1948
Manchester, New Hampshire,
U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of New Hampshire (BA)
Harvard University (MPA)
London School of Economics (MSc)
University of North Carolina, Greensboro (MA)

Career in politics

Gardner began his career in New Hampshire politics as a state representative and was elected secretary of state in 1976 by the state legislature. He was kept in office by both Democratic and Republican legislatures for more than 40 years. After the November 2018 election, he was narrowly re-elected over Colin Van Ostern in a vote on December 5, 2018.[3]

A strong supporter of New Hampshire's standing as the first in the nation primary state, Gardner wrote Why New Hampshire with the late former Governor Hugh Gregg in October 2003, detailing the history and significance of the New Hampshire primary. He also appears in Winning New Hampshire, released in 2004. As New Hampshire's Secretary of State, he described the principal charge as "protecting the sanctity of New Hampshire’s status as first to hold a full-fledged primary".[4]

Gardner participated in President Donald Trump's voter fraud commission, which was set up by Trump in the wake of Trump's unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2016 election.[3] Gardner has been criticized for legitimizing the commission, which failed to find evidence of substantial voter fraud.[3][5][6] At his opening address for the commission, Gardner called for an analysis of the value of photo ID laws in improving public confidence in elections.[5]

Gardner supported a New Hampshire law which imposed stricter residency requirements for out-of-state students to vote in New Hampshire.[3] The law was later blocked in court.[3] In 2017, Gardner criticized Trump's unsubstantiated claim that out-of-state voters were being bused into New Hampshire to vote.[3]

On January 3, 2022, Gardner announced that he would retire as secretary of state, and resign from the position before the next legislative election for the post. David Scanlan, his deputy since 2002, succeeded Gardner in an acting role a week later.[7]

References
  1. Siefer, Ted (December 5, 2018). "Guardian of New Hampshire primary fends off first challenge in decades". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  2. DeWitt, Ethan (March 13, 2018). "Van Ostern trying to unseat Bill Gardner as N.H. Secretary of State". Concord Monitor. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  3. "New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner wins re-election after fierce challenge". Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  4. Nagourney, Adam (September 6, 2007). "Defender of New Hampshire's Primary Stays Firm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  5. McDermott, Casey (July 19, 2017). "At First Election Commission Meeting, Gardner Focuses on Public Trust, Voter ID Laws". www.nhpr.org. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  6. "Bill Gardner Hangs On As N.H. Secretary Of State By Slimmest Of Margins". www.nhpr.org. December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  7. Merica, Dan (January 3, 2022). "New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner announces retirement after 45 years as the state's top election official". CNN. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
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