Bill Gardner (born October 26, 1948) is an American politician who was the

New Hampshire Secretary of State The Secretary of State of New Hampshire is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of New Hampshire and serves as the exclusive head of the New Hampshire Department of State. The Secretary is third in line for succession as acting Governor of ...

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. He is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

legislatures for more than 40 years. After the November 2018 election, he was narrowly re-elected over

Colin Van Ostern Colin Van Ostern (born Kevin Colin O’Loughlin; February 14, 1979), is an American businessman and politician who served on the New Hampshire Executive Council from 2013 to 2017, where he represented the state's second district. He is a member o ...

in a vote on December 5, 2018. 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 Hugh Gregg (November 22, 1917September 24, 2003) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 68th governor of New Hampshire from 1953 to 1955, and was the youngest person ever elected to that office. He is the father of former U ...

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". Gardner participated in President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

'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. Gardner has been criticized for legitimizing the commission, which failed to find evidence of substantial voter fraud. 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. Gardner supported a New Hampshire law which imposed stricter residency requirements for out-of-state students to vote in New Hampshire. The law was later blocked in court. In 2017, Gardner criticized Trump's unsubstantiated claim that out-of-state voters were being bused into New Hampshire to vote. 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 David M. Scanlan (born June 14, 1956) is an American politician and election official serving as the 54th Secretary of State of New Hampshire. He assumed office as Acting Secretary of State upon the resignation of Bill Gardner on January 10, 20 ...

, his deputy since 2002, succeeded Gardner in an acting role a week later.

References

External links

NH Secretary of State Website
*
Election Integrity - Past, Present & Future at MIT, 2011; Secretary Gardner appears in panel on "The Past."2012 New Hampshire Primary Date Announcement.NHPTV NH Outlook Program on Electronic Voting Machine Integrity.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Bill 1948 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Alumni of the London School of Economics Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Politicians from Manchester, New Hampshire Secretaries of State of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire alumni University of North Carolina at Greensboro alumni