Editor’s Note: The Monadnock Center for History and Culture and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript will present the next installment of their Community Conversations series, “Restoring Voter Confidence,” on Thursday, June 4, from 7 to 8 p.m. in Bass Hall at the Monadnock Center, 19 Grove St., Peterborough. The discussion will feature Charlie Bass of Peterborough, a former Republican congressman and co-chair of the New Hampshire chapter of the Democracy Defense Project; Dick Swett of Bow, a former Democratic congressman and co-chair of the chapter; and Peterborough attorney and retired District Court Judge Phil Runyon, who will serve as moderator.
Confidence in the election process has eroded over the last decade and many voters doubt our ability to have free, fair, and transparent elections. Court cases, redrawn electoral maps, and changes to voter registration requirements have made people question whether our elections really are fair. In January of this year, the University of California at San Diego conducted a national survey to gauge voter confidence and found that only 60% of the respondents said their votes would be accurately counted in the 2026 midterms. When UC San Diego conducted the same survey in 2024 before the presidential election, 77% felt their vote would be counted fairly, a drop of 17 percentage points in less than two years.
Voter confidence matters. When people have faith in the election process, more people vote. People who vote are more likely to be civically engaged in their communities, strengthening those communities and our nation’s democracy. As the Declaration of Independence stated 250 years ago, the legitimacy of government is granted by the governed. When people believe their vote doesn’t matter, our democracy is undermined.
The Monadnock Center’s Community Conversation series takes up the issue of voter confidence with a program on Thursday, June 4 at 7 p.m. At the upcoming conversation, we will hear from two former congressmen, one a Republican and one a Democrat, about the Democracy Defense Project, a nationwide bipartisan group to engage the public in dialogue and restore faith in elections. Rounding out the panel, a local town moderator will provide insight into how town meetings and elections here are administered to ensure fairness and accuracy. After brief presentations from the three speakers, the floor will be opened to questions, comments, and conversation.
Our speakers are former Congressman and U.S. Ambassador Dick Swett, former Congressman Charlie Bass, and Peterborough Town Moderator Phil Runyon.
In his role as Town Moderator, Phil Runyon is the town’s chief elections officer. Town Moderators preside over town meetings, manage election officials, enforce electioneering laws, and oversee vote counting. Runyon, an attorney and retired judge, will discuss the ways local elections are kept secure and transparent.
Ambassador Swett and Representative Bass are co-chairs of the Democracy Defense Project – New Hampshire (DDP). They’ll be discussing both the mission of the DDP broadly and their focus on rebuilding trust in the election process and outcomes in New Hampshire. They’ll also highlight some of their work with the Secretary of State, as well as discussions with local election officials.
The Democracy Defense Project is an organization led by a bipartisan group of former elected officials and leaders across Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who are working to defend the transparency, safety, security and validity of our nation’s electoral system. The mission of the DDP is to strengthen democracy by reestablishing faith in the transparency, safety, security, and validity of our election process.
The Community Conversations series is produced by the Monadnock Center for History and Culture in partnership with the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript. Community Conversations seeks to examine issues and opportunities that impact the Monadnock region community and to promote civil dialogue. This program is free and all welcome.
