WASHINGTON, D.C. — Club for Growth Foundation today released its Missed Votes New Hampshire scorecard for the General Court of New Hampshire’s 2021 regular and special sessions. The newly launched Missed Votes Scorecards calculate how often lawmakers show up to vote and how often they miss votes.
Lawmakers miss votes for a whole host of reasons, including medical issues, family concerns, prior commitments, purely political motivations, or other reasons. The Club for Growth Foundation generally doesn’t analyze why a lawmaker has missed a vote and is simply publishing this quantified information for educational purposes only.
According to Club for Growth Foundation President David McIntosh, “Constituents need to know the missed votes records of their representatives so they can decide for themselves if elected officials are avoiding a difficult vote or have a legitimate reason for missing a particular vote. Sadly, this information is often not available, and that is why the Club for Growth Foundation is publishing Missed Votes scorecards.”
This scorecard is based on a review of all floor votes taken in the New Hampshire General Courts from February 4, 2021 to May 13, 2021. There are inherent limitations in judging the overall qualifications of any legislator based on how many votes he or she has missed, and the Club for Growth Foundation does not endorse or oppose any legislator for public office. We expect all lawmakers to know their own voting records ahead of this publication.
Key Insights
New Hampshire Senate
The average New Hampshire senator missed 0 percent of 276 total floor votes, with Republican senators on average missing 1 percent of all floor votes and Democrat senators on average missing 0 percent of all floor votes. Sen. Sharon Carson (SD-14) missed the most votes – 16 out of 276– for a score of 6 percent missed votes. By not missing a single vote, the following senators received a perfect attendance score:
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Kevin Avard (SD-12)
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Regina Birdsell (SD-19)
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Jeb Bradley (SD-3)
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Kevin Cavanaugh (SD-16)
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Lou D’Allesandro (SD-20)
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Gary Daniels (SD-11)
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Harold French (SD-7)
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William Gannon (SD-23)
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Bob Giuda (SD-2)
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James Gray (SD-6)
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Jay Kahn (SD-10)
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Rebecca Perkins Kwoka (SD-21)
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John Reagan (SD-17)
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Denise Ricciardi (SD-9)
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Cindy Rosenwald (SD-13)
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Tom Sherman (SD-24)
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Donna Soucy (SD-18)
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Ruth Ward (SD-8)
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David Watters (SD-4)
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Becky Whitley (SD-15)
New Hampshire House of Representatives
The average New Hampshire House member missed 9 percent of 121 total floor votes, with Republican members on average missing 6 percent of all floor votes and Democrat members on average missing 13 percent of all floor votes. The following House members missed the most votes – 121 out of 121 – for a score of 100 percent missed votes:
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Caroletta Alicea (HD-Merrimack 8)
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David Cote (HD-Hillsborough 31)
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David Danielson (HD-Hillsborough 7)
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Mel Myler (HD-Merrimack 10)
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Denny Ruprecht (HD-Grafton 3)
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Catt Sandler (HD-Strafford 21)
By not missing a single vote, the following House members received a perfect attendance score:
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Joshua Adjutant (HD-Grafton 17)
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James Allard (HD-Merrimack 21)
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Mark Alliegro (HD-Grafton 7)
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Keith Ammon (HD-Hillsborough 40)
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Louise Andrus (HD-Merrimack 1)
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Aidan Ankarberg (HD-Strafford 10)
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Judy Aron (HD-Sullivan 7)
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Glenn Bailey (HD-Strafford 1)
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Alfred Baldasaro (HD-Rockingham 5)
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Lex Berezhny (HD-Grafton 9)
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JD Bernardy (HD-Rockingham 16)
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Alan Bershstein (HD-Rockingham 2)
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David Binford (HD-Grafton 15)
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Melissa Blasek (HD-Hillsborough 21)
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Ralph Boehm (HD-Hillsborough 20)
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John Bordenet (HD-Cheshire 5)
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Stephen Boyd (HD-Merrimack 24)
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John Burt (HD-Hillsborough 39)
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Jose Cambrils (HD-Merrimack 9)
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John Cloutier (HD-Sullivan 10)
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Jim Creighton (HD-Hillsborough 38)
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Robert Cushing (HD-Rockingham 21)
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Leah Cushman (HD-Hillsborough 2)
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Arnold Davis (HD-Coos 2)
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Susan DeLemus (HD-Strafford 24)
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Brodie Deshaies (HD-Carroll 6)
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Dustin Dodge (HD-Rockingham 3)
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Keith Erf (HD-Hillsborough 2)
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Barry Faulkner (HD-Cheshire 12)
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Beth Folsom (HD-Grafton 11)
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Oliver Ford (HD-Rockingham 4)
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William Foster (HD-Hillsborough 5)
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John Graham (HD-Hillsborough 7)
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Jeffrey Greeson (HD-Grafton 16)
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Gerald Griffin (HD-Hillsborough 5)
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Barbara Griffin (HD-Hillsborough 6)
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Willis Griffith (HD-Hillsborough 18)
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Jaci Grote (HD-Rockingham 24)
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Michael Gunski (HD-Hillsborough 6)
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Robert Harb (HD-Rockingham 14)
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Tina Harley (HD-Rockingham 20)
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Peter Hayward (HD-Strafford 1)
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Bob Healey (HD-Hillsborough 21)
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Susan Homola (HD-Hillsborough 27)
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Gary Hopper (HD-Hillsborough 2)
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Raymond Howard (HD-Belknap 8)
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Martin Jack (HD-Hillsborough 36)
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John Janigian (HD-Rockingham 8)
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Dawn Johnson (HD-Belknap 3)
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Thomas Kaczynski (HD-Strafford 22)
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Diane Kelley (HD-Hillsborough 25)
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Niki Kelsey (HD-Hillsborough 7)
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Bill King (HD-Hillsborough 23)
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Jim Kofalt (HD-Hillsborough 4)
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Rick Ladd (HD-Grafton 4)
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Tom Lanzara (HD-Hillsborough 28)
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Erica Layon (HD-Rockingham 6)
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Alicia Lekas (HD-Hillsborough 37)
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Melissa Litchfield (HD-Rockingham 11)
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Richard Littlefield (HD-Belknap 3)
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Wayne MacDonald (HD-Rockingham 5)
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James MacKay (HD-Merrimack 14)
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Jonathan Mackie (HD-Belknap 2)
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William Marsh (HD-Carroll 8)
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Richard Marston (HD-Hillsborough 19)
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James Mason (HD-Merrimack 2)
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Mary Mayville (HD-Hillsborough 21)
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Mark McLean (HD-Hillsborough 44)
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Charles McMahon (HD-Rockingham 7)
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Charles Melvin (HD-Rockingham 15)
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Troy Merner (HD-Coos 7)
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David Milz (HD-Rockingham 6)
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Michael Moffett (HD-Merrimack 9)
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Maureen Mooney (HD-Hillsborough 21)
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Sue Mullen (HD-Hillsborough 7)
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Kate Murray (HD-Rockingham 24)
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Hershel Nunez (HD-Hillsborough 37)
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Diane Pauer (HD-Hillsborough 26)
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Mark Pearson (HD-Rockingham 34)
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Tom Ploszaj (HD-Belknap 1)
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Lisa Post (HD-Hillsborough 4)
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John Potucek (HD-Rockingham 6)
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Andrew Prout (HD-Hillsborough 37)
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Andrew Renzullo (HD-Hillsborough 37)
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Cecilia Rich (HD-Strafford 18)
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Skip Rollins (HD-Sullivan 6)
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Gail Sanborn (HD-Grafton 6)
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Matthew Santonastaso (HD-Cheshire 14)
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Peter Schmidt (HD-Strafford 19)
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Brian Seaworth (HD-Merrimack 20)
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Vanessa Sheehan (HD-Hillsborough 23)
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Stephen Shurtleff (HD-Merrimack 11)
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Matthew Simon (HD-Grafton 14)
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Denise Smith (HD-Hillsborough 37)
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Jonathan Smith (HD-Carroll 5)
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Julius Soti (HD-Rockingham 7)
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Timothy Soucy (HD-Merrimack 16)
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James Spillane (HD-Rockingham 2)
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Walter Spilsbury (HD-Sullivan 8)
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Paul Terry (HD-Belknap 5)
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Douglas Thomas (HD-Rockingham 5)
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Peter Torosian (HD-Rockingham 14)
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Douglas Trottier (HD-Belknap 6)
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Paul Tudor (HD-Rockingham 1)
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Leonard Turcotte (HD-Strafford 4)
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Kevin Verville (HD-Rockingham 2)
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Janet Wall (HD-Strafford 6)
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Scott Wallace (HD-Rockingham 12)
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Natalie Wells (HD-Merrimack 25)
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Kenneth Weyler (HD-Rockingham 13)
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Stephen Woodcock (HD-Carroll 2)
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Gary Woods (HD-Merrimack 23)
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Josh Yokela (HD-Rockingham 33)
We asked lawmakers who missed at least 10 percent of the votes if they’d like us to include an explanation. Here are the responses we received:
Ross Berry (HD-Hillsborough 44)
I missed two days of session for my wedding and that was it. Because of COVID the House calendar is compacted and most bills were rolled to the new year. I actually pushed back my travel to my own wedding a day so I wouldn’t miss a third day. You can see my facebook post about it below. I have not missed a single another day or vote, including the two committees I serve on.
Efstathia Booras (HD-Hillsborough 33)
The missed voting was due to meeting in person in the middle of the pandemic.
In January we lost our speaker due to covid, and for the safety of my family and myself, I was not able to attend.
Tony Caplan (HD-Merrimack 6)
My missed votes during the 2021 legislative session were due almost entirely to work-related responsibilities as I am a part-time middle school teacher as well as a volunteer state representative.
Daniel Eaton (HD-Cheshire 3)
During the 2021 session I believe that most of my missed votes were in fact listed by the clerks office as excused. There may have been a few that I missed the call in
All missed votes were due to injuries and surgery. I was also out of my regular work for 4 months. While not completely healed, I am now able to attend to legislative business and most work business.
Tracy Emerick (HD-Rockingham 21)
My reason for missing votes is my wife has dementia and is unable to care for herself. I hire private duty nursing so I can attend to my legislative duties. However, when sessions extend beyond anticipated timeframes I must leave to relieve the nurse based on pre agreed work hours. In my previous three terms I missed only one vote.
Diane Langley (HD-Hillsborough 8)
I have an excellent, consistent voting record. The 2021 session where CoVid was rampant in NH and the Speaker of the NH House of Representatives refused to authorize off-site electronic voting changed that.
The session I missed was held in the middle of a NH winter (January), where temperatures were freezing and Representatives had to spend the entire day in their cars with the heat running & their mufflers releasing exhaust fumes in order for them to remain warm.
The session was poorly attended and poorly planned, supported by voting equipment that did not work consistently, health/hygiene facilities that were a significant distance from the parking lot/s, voting signals that were blocked by running cars and finally multiple legislators who did not attend feeling it was not a safe venue for them to participate from. See the attached picture taken from The NY Times. That is the only session I missed.
Lee Oxenham (HD-Sullivan 1)
I probably missed one day, or a half day.
Judith Spang (HD-Strafford 6)
When you check the legislators vote on a given day, the Clerks office has records of the reason for an absence.
In my case, I was housebound with a broken leg from October to April. If. I had been able to vote remotely, I would have been able to achieve close to a 100%. The Speaker made sure I couldn’t!! Because of Covid and the many legislators who had to miss votes because of it, last year was a poor one to gauge legislators’ commitment. Again this year, I had major surgery just before the 2022 Session began, and am home recuperating for a good 6 weeks. However, I continue to be involved with Committee hearings to the extent that I can, answering constituent letters, researching bills and advising my colleagues on my opinions on bills, even if I can’t vote. Now, over the 24 years that I’ve served, there are always 2 or 3 members who never come to a committee meeting. Some rarely come to Session, either. Does it seem fair for my absences to be characterized the same? Also, the day my father died and I missed Session, there were many bills acted on that day. So I was absent for a fair number of bills, but only one Session day. It was the only day I was absent all year. I hope you don’t use a raw attendance sheet to judge all legislators the same!
Thomas Schamberg (HD-Merrimack 4)
On day of missed votes – got vaccine which caused reaction. Unable to attend.
Jan Schmidt (HD-Hillsborough 28)
COVID-19
Steven Smith (HD-Sullivan 11)
That should account for almost of all my missed votes. The Speaker only votes to break ties, or when one vote changes the outcome.
*Rep. Smith is referring to votes where he presided over.
Safiya Wazir (HD-Merrimack 17)
2021 was an unprecedented year in lawmaking with sessions moved to alternate in-person locations outside of Concord due to the global pandemic. Many lawmakers faced issues attending due to personal health concerns, family illnesses and deaths, and six NH lawmakers filed a lawsuit in federal court asking for ADA compliance. Current leadership of the NH House (NH House Speaker Dick Hinch died of COVID) needs to do more to provide safe and remote options for both lawmakers and the public to participate in the legislative process, including committee hearings, general assemblies, and more. Lawmakers, like myself, found ourselves arguing for such means, attending in-person and remote meetings, and I also helped many constituents in my district in their struggles related to COVID, the lack of direct service providers for the elderly and disabled, individuals needing help with unemployment filings, obtaining prescriptions, and more.