CONCORD — Two New Hampshire House lawmakers who have invoked a “right of revolution” over fellow Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic said Monday they will remain in the Legislature despite declaring the results of the November election void.
Reps. Raymond Howard, of Alton, and David Testerman, of Franklin, were among at least half a dozen GOP lawmakers who signed a new “Declaration of Independence” last week invoking a provision of the state’s Bill of Rights. It casts Sununu as a tyrant and declares unconstitutional both the state law that granted him emergency powers during the pandemic and the expansion of absentee voting for the recent election.
“I’m here to defend the Constitution and represent the people of my district,” said Howard. “Our Constitution is being torn to shreds, and this has got to end.”
About 100 people signed the declaration, but it’s unclear what effect, if any, their actions will have. Testerman said he intends to serve his term and “raise my issues as I go along.”
“We can’t keep passing unconstitutional laws and then acting as if we did something great,” he said.
Polls have shown Sununu enjoying bipartisan support for his handling of the pandemic, and he easily won reelection to a third term in November. Asked to comment on the group’s claims, he said the state’s elections were conducted “with the utmost integrity.”
“While some may not like the outcomes, our elections were fair, transparent, and accurate,” he said in a statement to The Associated Press.