New Hampshire Democratic Party Platform

Adopted May 11th, 2024

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New Hampshire Democrats believe in the rights of all people to thrive in all areas of their lives. Our economy has to work for all of us, not just those at the top. Quality public services are foundational to the common good. No matter our circumstances, where we live, or who we are, we support and welcome all who share these values.

 

We understand the financial strains individuals, families, and small businesses are experiencing and what it will take to ease those financial pressures. A strong economy that works for all Granite Staters depends on an inclusive, thriving democracy where all voices are heard, welcomed, and protected.

 

To promote strong and healthy families and communities, to protect civil liberties, and to create a resilient, growing economy, New Hampshire Democrats commit to the following values:

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Protecting Democracy and Voting Rights

The freedom to choose our leaders and speak up for what we believe in is foundational to American democracy. Our democracy works best when all citizens participate. Restricting someone’s vote is taking away their freedom.

• We support policies that broaden voter participation and make voting more accessible and convenient.

• We support modernizing our voter registration and voting processes.

• We reject all attempts to undermine legitimate election results.

• We renounce all attempts at voter suppression, including the use of artificial intelligence, to propagate disinformation. We will fight all measures that make it difficult for any specific population group or individuals to exercise their constitutional right to vote. 

• To ensure every vote counts, we support fair and equitable redistricting, free from partisan gerrymandering.

• We support no-excuse absentee voting.

• Election officials play a critical role in ensuring the fairness, accessibility, and accuracy of our elections. We support training, resources, and protections to enable them to do their job.

• In order to safeguard Granite Staters’ rights, civics education should occur at home, in schools, and throughout the community to build awareness and understanding of our democratic institutions.

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Reproductive Rights and Comprehensive Health Care

Health care is a basic human right. When and how to start a family is a fundamental individual right that must be protected. Health care and prescription drugs must be affordable and accessible to everyone regardless of economic or employment status. 

• All people must have access to affordable, safe, and legal reproductive health care, including contraception, fertility care, and abortion care, regardless of geography, income, or insurance coverage, and free from government interference. We oppose bans on abortion and other measures that add barriers to accessing care as arbitrary and unnecessary infringements on individual liberty, freedom, and privacy that pose a risk to patient health and wellbeing.

• Quality health care includes physical, mental, and oral health care, including prevention and early intervention in clinically appropriate settings in all urban and rural areas.

• We believe decisions on health care for transgender youth should be made by children, parents, and doctors, not politicians.

• Our mental health system must be comprehensive and represent the full continuum of care.

• Public health policy must be informed by the best available scientific evidence.

• LGBTQ+ individuals, people experiencing disabilities, addiction, or mental health concerns, or from underserved communities, must have access to comprehensive, culturally sensitive health care services that maintain or improve their quality of life.

• We support accessible telehealth care to improve delivery of health care services to all residents.

• Our youth must have access to sexual, reproductive, and mental health care that promotes personal health, social stability, and gender equality.

• Substance Use Disorder is a health issue, and those experiencing it should be treated with dignity and respect. We must invest in expanding the full spectrum of prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery supports.

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Economic Building Blocks

Government serves a vital role in partnering with the private sector and public employers to create the building blocks New Hampshire’s economy needs to thrive today and tomorrow. 

• Government is a major partner in ensuring access to housing, public education, and childcare, which are fundamental to thriving communities.

• Government must be a major partner in building a comprehensive transportation infrastructure, including bus and rail service, that allows the transport of people, goods, and services across our state, and makes it possible for our businesses and communities to thrive.​

• Government is responsible for helping establish telecommunications and broadband infrastructure so that all Granite Staters can learn and work everywhere in the state.

• We encourage engagement with arts, culture, history, and natural beauty and their preservation and protection.

• It is the role of government to provide an adequate safety net to protect individuals in times of social, environmental, and economic distress, especially for populations historically most in need.

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Workforce: The Engine of our Economy

Our economy is driven by the availability of a well-educated, well-trained, and well-compensated workforce with competitive wages and benefits and the skills needed to compete in a globalized economy. 

• It is critical to create policies that promote an economy with a minimum wage high enough to allow working people to support their families and help workers keep and improve their legal rights to safe, healthy, and fair working conditions.

• Government must promote policies that include ensuring the right of every worker to organize and unionize, making the minimum wage a living wage, achieving pay equity for women and people of color, restoring overtime protections, supporting prevailing wage standards, and adhering to the "Good Jobs Principles" as established by the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Commerce.

• We must ensure access to infrastructure and services to make our communities attractive to businesses and allow them to attract qualified employees to our state through: affordable housing, high quality public education from preschool through higher education, affordable and accessible child care, affordable access to health care services, and the ability to care for our families.

• We recognize the importance of immigrants to our workforce and economic growth.

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Education

Public education is the foundation of our free and democratic society. The continuous attacks on public education undermine our democracy and our future. We must protect the fundamental promise of a quality public education for all students.

• All students have the right to access a quality education, from early childhood through post-secondary college or career training.

• Our youth must have access to sexual, reproductive, and mental health education that promotes personal health, social stability, and gender equality.

• Public schools are the first line of defense in New Hampshire’s mental health, substance use disorder, and child protection crises. Behavioral support for students and staff is vital to public education.

• Students should not be prevented from being taught about authentic history and science, accurately and free from partisan politics.

• We reject any attempts to ban books in schools or public libraries. Access to a broad range of perspectives allows for the development of critical thinking skills.

• We appreciate and value our public school personnel. Our educators are professionally trained and consistently act in the best interest of students.

• We recognize the opportunity gaps between and within our communities. We support policies to equalize education funding and eliminate the gaps for students across income levels and zip codes.

• We reject all efforts to divert public funding to private, religious, or home school education. This is a systemic attack on our public community schools.

• We oppose the deliberate lack of transparency and accountability for public monies distributed outside of the public education system.

• Increased funding for public community colleges and universities is critical.

• We believe that all students should be able to access college or career/technical education without a crushing debt burden.

• Students and staff have the right to teach, learn, and thrive in a safe school environment. We support enforcing anti-bullying, anti-harassment, and anti-discrimination policies and laws.

• We support gun-free schools. We will oppose any attempts to arm staff or militarize schools under the pretense of school safety.

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Diversity and Immigrants

Strong communities welcome and include the participation of diverse populations. Our growing diversity of race, ethnicity, religious belief, disability, immigration status, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression makes us stronger and more welcoming to newcomers and businesses.

• We will continue to fight for protections and security for all people in our state. Everyone should be free from discrimination in all areas of our society including employment, housing, education, health care, our justice system, and in accessing all areas of public accommodations.

• People who identify as LGBTQ+ deserve equal rights and opportunities in all aspects of education, life and society, including but not limited to participation in sports, public facilities, career opportunities, health care and insurance coverage.

• People who experience visible and invisible disabilities deserve access to equitable treatment and opportunities.

• Immigration is an opportunity for growth. We welcome immigrants from all countries and backgrounds. We object to the use of state funds and state authorities to enforce federal immigration laws which destroy families and disrupt communities.

• We support diversity, equity, and inclusion training in all settings.

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Supporting the LGBTQ+ Community

We support LGBTQ+ rights and equality in all aspects of life. Conversations to destigmatize and respect LGBTQ+ Granite Staters' rights are crucial in publicly supporting the LGBTQ+ community. The government should not dictate identity, whom we love, or create policies that put LGBTQ+ Granite Staters at risk.

• We will work to remove barriers for members of the LGBTQ+ community in New Hampshire, fight to ensure equal civil rights for these individuals, and advocate for the safety of all LGBTQ+ Granite Staters.

• We affirm the rights of transgender and gender non-binary people of all ages. We will fight to protect equal rights for all individuals in the workplace, housing, community, educational settings, and all public spaces.

• The LGBTQ+ community must have access to physical, behavioral, and mental health care that affirms their identity, gender, and well-being.

• We reject discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and families in adoption, family planning, and fertility treatments. When and how to start a family is a fundamental individual right.

• The need for LGBTQ+ youth to feel safe at school is crucial for their well-being. Supporting efforts to create inclusive communities creates a stronger, safer New Hampshire.

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Climate and Energy

The climate emergency exacerbates all other issues. It is a monumental impediment to achieving our values of social, economic, and environmental progress, justice, and fairness that are addressed throughout our platform.

• We reject all efforts to deny the validity of science. Environmental change presents a real and imminent threat, and it is our immediate responsibility to proactively address and counter its effects.

• We support the creation of a statewide comprehensive environmental action plan with clearly specified timelines and goals.

• Achieving energy efficiency and economic growth are complementary goals. We believe that thoughtful economic development will protect our environment and create good local jobs, while addressing the climate crisis and ensuring that our natural resources are preserved for future generations.

• We must eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels by no later than 2040 by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy resources, infrastructure, and jobs.

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Environment and Agriculture

It is our duty and responsibility to preserve clean air and water and a healthy environment for ourselves and for future generations. Everyone should have affordable access to a safe and healthy food supply.

• We must hold accountable entities that pollute our communities with PFAS, other harmful chemicals, and toxic waste.

• We actively support our local farms and local and regional food systems that feed New Hampshire, foster resiliency, and bolster local economies. 

• We promote sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices which lead to healthier outcomes for the environment, farmworkers, and our communities. 

• We support the protection of our mountains, forests, parks, coastal waters, lakes, rivers, and streams, which enable us all to enjoy the beauty of our state and provide healthy recreational activities.

• We support balancing the preservation of our natural resources with the needs of rural economies.

• We are dedicated to the protection of our aquifers, estuaries, wetlands, and other fragile ecosystems.

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Public Safety and Justice

Individual and collective safety is essential to Granite Staters’ happiness and wellbeing across our communities. All residents deserve equitable treatment and response, regardless of who or where they are.

• We support our law enforcement, firefighters and EMS personnel. Safe and healthy working conditions, embedded and ongoing training, proper staffing, adequate funding, and protected retirement benefits are critical components to maintaining a quality public safety workforce.

• We believe the safety of children, individuals, and families is a fundamental function of government and the responsibility of everyone. This includes protecting people from domestic and sexual violence.

• We categorically reject any hate speech or behavior that uses pejorative or discriminatory language with reference to any person regardless of who they are or how they identify. Hate speech and behaviors are often employed in the promulgation of conspiracy theories, disinformation, and the denial and distortion of historical events, emphasizing and reinforcing stereotyping and stigmatization.

• We support continued training for all law enforcement officers as they serve our expanding diverse communities. This includes non-violent strategies for assisting those experiencing mental and behavioral health issues and expanded culturally competent training.

• We believe in responsible gun ownership. We support universal background checks to protect our communities from gun violence. We believe that military-style weapons, bump stocks, and high-capacity magazines do not belong in our communities.

• We believe communities should have the right to establish gun-free zones in certain public places.

• We understand that prevention, education, treatment, diversion programs and rehabilitation are often more effective than incarceration.

• Cannabis should be legalized, regulated, and equitably enforced.

• We support full, fair, and timely access to our courts, both criminal and civil, and the protection of the constitutional right to a trial by jury. We believe in the state’s responsibility in providing adequate legal counsel to those who cannot afford representation.

• We oppose excessive bail for the indigent as well as incarceration due to an inability to pay bail or criminal fines.

• We oppose the privatization of prisons. We believe prison privatization creates improper incentives toward imprisonment rather than prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and unnecessarily increases the cost to taxpayers.

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Fiscal Responsibility

New Hampshire Democrats support sound, prudent management of our state’s financial resources, understanding that fiscal burdens should not fall most heavily on those with the least financial security.

• We are committed to engaging the public to develop a fiscally sound, transparent, and accountable balanced budget to serve the needs of all Granite Staters.

• We respect both the will of the people and the constitutional requirement of fair and equal taxation.

• We believe an effective and efficient government must provide essential services including supporting the health and safety of our residents, public education, the protection of our environment, access to courts and justice, consumer protection, and the physical infrastructure necessary to maintain a robust economy and expand employment opportunities.

• We believe the state budget must reflect the true costs of assuring an effective and efficient government and be supported by sufficient, sustainable revenue.

• Our federal delegation has worked diligently to bring federal funding to New Hampshire to support important programs. We must not leave these funds unspent.

• We oppose tax policies that result in the reduction of essential programs and services.

• We oppose unfunded mandates and downshifting costs to the local municipalities and property taxpayers.

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Veterans and Military Families

We honor and respect our veterans, active duty and reserve military personnel, national guard and military families.

• The best way to honor our military personnel is to keep our commitment to provide physical and mental health care, education, and disability support throughout their lifetimes.

• We support policies that create employment opportunities for military personnel and address homelessness, mental health, substance use, and suicide.

• We support the expansion of access to all health care services through contracting with local hospitals and doctors to ensure military personnel have access to health care services in both urban and rural areas across the state.

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First in the Nation Primary

We are proud to support and defend New Hampshire’s first in the nation primary and will continue to fight to protect this important status.

• We welcome all candidates to our state, treat them fairly, and take the responsibility of hosting primary candidates seriously.

• We are committed to maintaining fairness and respecting all candidates in primary elections.

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Respectfully submitted,

The 2024 New Hampshire Democratic Party Platform Committee

 

Deputy Senate Leader Cindy Rosenwald, Chair

Deputy House Leader Alexis Simpson, Vice-Chair

Assistant House Leader Brian Sullivan, Vice-Chair

Stephanie Alicea

Quinn Allred

Representative Luz Bay

Judy Carr

Johnna Davis

Honorable Manny Espitia

Honorable Sue Ford

Senator Donovan Fenton

Ann Garland

Slate Goodwin

Honorable Jerry Knirk

Sumathi Madhure

Teresa Moler

Maxine Mosley

Representative Kate Murray

Alan Raff