New Hampshire town elections offer a preview of citizenship voting rules being considered nationwide

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A voter in Milford missed out on approving the town’s $19 million operating budget, electing a cemetery trustee and buying a new dump truck. In Durham, an 18-year-old high school student did not get a say in who should serve on the school board or whether $125,000 should go toward replacing artificial turf on athletic fields.

Neither was able to participate in recent town elections in New Hampshire thanks to a new state law requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. Their experiences, recounted by town clerks, could prove instructive for the rest of the country as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act advances in Congress and more than a dozen states consider similar legislation. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order that would require documentary proof of citizenship to register and vote in federal elections, though it is likely to face swift challenges.

“Everything that conservatives tried to downplay, New Hampshire told us exactly what would happen on a national scale under the SAVE Act,” said Greta Bedekovics, a former policy adviser for Senate Democrats who is now with the Center for American Progress.

Voting rights groups are particularly concerned that married women who have changed their names will encounter trouble when trying to register because their birth certificates list their maiden names.

That is exactly what happened to Brooke Yonge, a 45-year-old hairstylist who showed up at her polling place in Derry last week determined to show her support for public education.

She was turned away initially because she did not have proof of citizenship. When she returned with her birth certificate, that still was not enough because the name on the document did not match the one on her driver’s license. Back home she went to fetch her marriage license to prove she had changed her name.

“Third trip around the sun and here we are,” said Yonge, who called the registration requirements reasonable despite the hassle. “If I did a little research, I probably would have known that is what I needed.”

New Hampshire is among the 20 states that allow voters to register on the day of an election. According to the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights, at least 56 people who tried to register statewide the day of the March 11 town elections were turned away, though it is unknown how many of them later completed the process.

Derry's town clerk, Tina Guilford, wonders how it will go during a November general election, when turnout is much higher.

“It’s just heartbreaking to me to see people turn around and think, ‘I hope they come back,’” she said.

At least one person who tried to register in Milford on Tuesday did not return, said Joan Dargie, the town clerk. Neither did an older woman who tried to register at Town Hall before the election. The first of the woman’s three marriages was in Florida in the 1970s and that license was long gone, Dargie said.

“Sometimes people are like, ‘I didn’t save any paperwork for that. I wanted to forget all that,’” Dargie said. “It’s disenfranchising women.”

The U.S. House passed legislation last year to require proof of citizenship for voter registration, but it stalled in the Senate amid Democratic opposition. With Republicans now in full control of Congress, the House is expected to take up the issue again soon.

Before the 2024 election, Trump falsely claimed that noncitizens might vote in large enough numbers to sway the outcome. His Tuesday executive order signals that he didn’t want to wait for Congress to act. It directs federal agencies to share data that could help election officials identify noncitizens on their rolls and threatens to pull federal funding from states that don't comply.

Republicans argue that even small numbers of noncitizens voting undermine public confidence, but voting rights groups say requiring proof of citizenship could disenfranchise millions of Americans who don't have ready access to those documents. Research and reviews of state cases have shown voting by noncitizens to be rare and typically a mistake rather than an intentional effort to subvert an election.

New Hampshire's new law also has had broad support. About 8 in 10 New Hampshire voters in the 2024 election favored requiring people in their state to show a passport, birth certificate or other evidence of U.S. citizenship when they register to vote, according to AP VoteCast, including about 6 in 10 who were strongly in favor. The vast majority of Trump voters were in support of the requirement, but so were more than half of voters for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the race against Republican Trump.

During the recent town hall elections, Michael Appleton had to return home to get his birth certificate and provide proof of a name change before he could register and vote. Even so, he wasn't critical of the new law.

“It’s inconvenient for me personally in this moment, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable thing to ask,” he said.

Republican state Rep. Bob Lynn, who sponsored New Hampshire’s law, does not believe there is rampant voter fraud in the state. He also does not believe the new citizenship requirements are unduly burdensome.

“It seems to me that voting is pretty important, and it’s not unreasonable to say to people, look, you’re going to have to give a little bit of forethought to what you need in order to vote,” said Lynn, a former chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

New Hampshire is one of eight states with laws that require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, and similar legislation is pending in 17 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The experience has at times been fraught in some states that have enacted a proof-of-citizenship requirement.

In Arizona, a recent state audit found that problems with the way data was handled had affected the tracking and verification of citizenship. It came after officials had identified some 200,000 voters who were thought to have provided citizenship, but had not.

A proof of citizenship requirement was in effect for three years in Kansas before it was overturned through legal challenges. The state’s own expert estimated that almost all the roughly 30,000 people who were prevented from registering to vote during the time it was in effect were U.S. citizens who had been eligible to vote.

In Texas, where Republicans control both houses of the Legislature, lawmakers have introduced a bill that would in some ways expand on the proposed federal SAVE Act. It would require proof of citizenship for voter registration and compel state and local election officials to verify the citizenship status of everyone who is already registered.

If a person’s citizenship cannot be verified, that person would be notified and allowed to vote in only congressional elections.

Even as New Hampshire's law faces legal challenges, state lawmakers are considering further changes.

The state House gave preliminary approval last week to a bill that would create vouchers to cover the cost for indigent voters of obtaining a birth certificate, though opponents said asking voters to declare themselves poor would be demeaning. It also would instruct the secretary of state to make “reasonable efforts” to verify citizenship if someone is unable to provide documentation. Critics noted the office has access only to birth certificates issued in New Hampshire.

“If you're going to pass a bill, make sure that it can withstand litigation and make sure that it offers real solutions. This bill does neither,” Democratic Rep. Connie Lane said.

In Durham, where voting takes place in the town’s high school, students enrolled in civics classes traditionally watch the process. They got an extra lesson during the recent town hall elections. A student who was old enough to vote wanted to register but did not have the documents to prove citizenship, according to Rachel Deane, the town clerk.

“The supervisors of the voter checklist are wonderful in Durham, and they walked the student through the process and encouraged them to come back," she said.

Deane said she believes the student never did return.

Casey reported from Derry, New Hampshire, and Cassidy from Atlanta. Associated Press Polling Director Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux in Washington contributed to this report.

Brooke Younge holds her marriage certificate and birth certificate after registering to vote for the first time in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

Michael Appleton registers to vote in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

Michael Appleton registers to vote in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

Election volunteer and first-time voter Elise Collins poses for a photo in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

Brooke Younge registers to vote in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

Supervisor of the Checklist for the State of New Hampshire Leslie Dombroski, left, registers Elise Collins, 18, to vote in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

Supervisor of the Checklist for the State of New Hampshire Leslie Dombroski, left, registers Elise Collins, 18, to vote in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

A sign for new voter registration is seen outside a polling location at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

Elodie McCarran, 3, peaks out from a curtain as mother Lauren votes in Derry, N.H., Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

CLEVELAND (AP) — Keyonte George scored 32 points, Lauri Markkanen added 28 and the Utah Jazz bounced back after a 55-point loss and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 Monday night.

George had 16 points during the third quarter, when Utah rallied from a 10-point deficit and regained control and began its five-game road trip with a victory. George also was 12 of 12 at the free throw line and had nine assists.

The win was the Jazz’s second in their past eight games and came two nights after a 150-95 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the second-largest by scoring margin in franchise history and the biggest since they moved from New Orleans in 1979.

Markkanen, 10th in the league in scoring at 27.8 points per game, also had 12 rebounds. Jusuf Nurkik, who missed the last two games due to a toe injury, had 11 points and 17 rebounds.

Darius Garland led Cleveland with 23 points and Donovan Mitchell scored 21. The Cavaliers have dropped two of three.

PACERS 98, CELTICS 96

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 21 points, including the decisive 7-foot bank shot with 6.1 seconds remaining, and Indiana won three straight games for the first time this season, beating Boston.

Boston’s Derrick White missed a go-ahead 3-point attempt in the final seconds. He had tied the game at 96-all on a driving layup with 28.6 seconds remaining.

Siakam pump-faked and stepped inside the foul line for the high-arcing leaner that banked through in the final seconds. He also had eight rebounds and six assists.

The Pacers began the night with the NBA’s worst record but improved to 9-31, one-half game better than the New Orleans Pelicans. They were without forward Bennedict Mathurin (17.8 points per game), sidelined by a thumb injury for a fifth consecutive game.

Jay Huff had 20 points, including four 3-pointers, for the Pacers.

Payton Pritchard led the Celtics with 23 points and eight assists. White had 18 points and Anfernee Simons 16.

76ERS 115, RAPTORS 102

TORONTO (AP) — Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points, Joel Embiid had 27 and Philadelphia used an 80-point first half to beat Toronto.

VJ Edgecombe and Paul George each scored 15 points as the 76ers bounced back from Sunday’s overtime loss to Toronto to win for the sixth time in eight games.

Embiid (left knee and left groin) and George (left knee) were back in the lineup after sitting out Sunday.

Fans chanted “We want Lowry!” in the fourth quarter, then rose for a standing ovation when former Raptors player Kyle Lowry checked in for Maxey with 1:57 left to play.

Lowry starred for the Toronto team that won the 2019 NBA championship. He airballed a 3-pointer on his first attempt and missed all three shots he took.

Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points and Brandon Ingram had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Scottie Barnes scored 15 points for Toronto.

MAVERICKS 113, NETS 105

DALLAS (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 27 points and matched a season high with three steals, and Naji Marshall had three straight baskets down the stretch and finished with 22 points as Dallas beat Brooklyn.

The Mavericks (15-25) snapped a two-game skid. Klay Thompson scored 18 off the bench and matched a season high with six 3-pointers.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 28 points and Day’Ron Sharpe had 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Nets (11-26), who have lost four consecutive games. They were swept in a road back-to-back, losing 103-98 at Memphis on Sunday.

KINGS 124, LAKERS 112

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) —Malik Monk made seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help Sacramento Kings to a win over Los Angeles.

DeMar DeRozan had 32 points and six assists for the Kings (10-30), who won their second straight after a seven-game skid. Russell Westbrook, who played 78 games for the Lakers in 2023, added 22 points and seven assists.

It was the Kings’ first home win against the Lakers since March 13, 2024.

Luka Doncic paced the Lakers with 42 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. It was the seventh 40-point game of the season for the NBA’s leading scorer.

LeBron James had 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting that included missing all five attempts from 3-point distance.

DeAndre Ayton scored 13 points to reach 7,000 for his career. Jaxson Hayes added 12 points for the Lakers (23-11), who have lost two straight since winning three in a row.

CLIPPERS 117, HORNETS 109

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points and James Harden had 32 to move into ninth place on the NBA’s career scoring list, and the Los Angeles Clippers beat Charlotte for their fourth win in five games.

Jordan Miller added 14 points and Ivica Zubac had nine points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers.

LaMelo Ball had 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hornets in their third loss in four games. Kon Knueppel scored 18 points, Moussa Diabaté had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Brandon Miller also scored 13 and Miles Bridges 11.

Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) blocks a shot by Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) in the second half of an NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)