NH top election official will not invoke an amendment to the U.S. Constitution

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire’s top election official said Wednesday he will not invoke an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to block former President Donald Trump from appearing on ballots in the state, which will hold the first Republican presidential primary next year. “As long as he submits his declaration of candidacy and signs it under the penalties of perjury and pays the $1,000 filing fee, his name will appear on the presidential primary ballot,” Secretary of State David Scanlan said in a press conference he called to address various legal efforts to bar Trump from the 2024 race. Under New Hampshire law, the name of anyone who pays the filing fee and swears they meet the age, citizenship and residency requirements “shall be printed on the ballots.” “That language is not discretionary,” said Scanlan, a Republican elected by the Legislature with bipartisan support in 2022 after serving two decades as deputy secretary of state.