Bill Gardner (politician)

Bill Gardner
Secretary of State of New Hampshire
Assumed office
December 2, 1976
Governor Meldrim Thomson
Hugh Gallen
Vesta Roy (Acting)
John H. Sununu
Judd Gregg
Steve Merrill
Jeanne Shaheen
Craig Benson
John Lynch
Maggie Hassan
Chris Sununu
Preceded by Ed Kelly (Acting)
Personal details
Born (1948-10-26) October 26, 1948
Manchester, New Hampshire,
U.S.
Political party Democratic
Education University of New Hampshire,
Durham (BA)
Harvard University (MPA)
London School of Economics
(MS)
University of North Carolina,
Greensboro (MA)

Bill Gardner (born October 26, 1948) is the current Secretary of State of New Hampshire. He is in charge of the department that oversees all general elections, primary elections, voter registration and recounts within the state, including the New Hampshire primary. He currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Public Advisory Board at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.

Career in politics

He began his career in New Hampshire politics as a state representative and was elected Secretary of State in 1976 by the state legislature. He has been kept in office by both Democratic and Republican legislatures since then. He is the longest currently-serving Secretary of State in the United States.

Gardner has taken the lead in New Hampshire's policy towards "100% Paper Ballot" elections, in contrast to some states that use computerized voting systems without paper records of each vote.

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".[1]

References

  1. ↑ Nagourney, Adam (2007-09-06). "Defender of New Hampshire's Primary Stays Firm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-22.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ed Kelly
Acting		 Secretary of State of New Hampshire
1976–present		 Incumbent
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