‘Troubling and ironic': Candidate who urged N.H. officials to uphold election integrity fined for voting illegally

Boston Globe

16-05-2025

Berlin
said he lived with his parents in Durham, but actually lived at his own multi-unit property in Madbury, according to cease-and-desist letters the New Hampshire Department of Justice sent to him in February and March.
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The letters, which the DOJ released to The Boston Globe this week in response to a public records request, slapped Berlin with a $750 fine for wrongful voting and told him to quit casting ballots in a town where he doesn't reside.
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The DOJ also told Berlin, a Republican, to stop running for offices he isn't eligible to hold. His name had appeared on the ballot as a candidate for the New Hampshire House to represent Strafford County District 10, which includes Durham, but not Madbury, and state lawmakers must reside in the districts they represent.
Berlin, however, is disputing the DOJ's conclusion about his primary residence. He filed an appeal this week in Merrimack County Superior Court, as
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Berlin's attorney, Tony F. Soltani, said the DOJ relied on hearsay and ignored evidence that his legal domicile is in Durham, not Madbury. With his domicile in dispute, Berlin cannot confidently vote in either town without fear of further scrutiny and potential legal action, Soltani said.
'That chills the ability to vote anywhere, not just for Mr. Berlin but for every voter in the state,' he said.
Several other Granite Staters have been fined for trying to cast ballots in the 2024 general election in municipalities where they no longer reside, according to DOJ records.
Soltani said Berlin's case isn't the first time the DOJ has issued a fine for wrongful voting based on flimsy evidence, but most people just pay up and walk away.
'I'm hoping that this will be the kind of case that puts the government on notice that this fundamental right is not going to be trampled or chilled willy-nilly,' he said. 'There are some people that are going to fight back.'
Meanwhile, local leaders welcomed news that the DOJ had issued a fine.
Durham Town Administrator Todd I. Selig said some residents had voiced doubts about Berlin's residency, so town officials consulted with the state and then advised people they could file complaints with the DOJ or the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Office.
'In this case, the process worked as intended,' Selig said. 'Concerns were investigated by the appropriate state authorities, a determination was made, and legal consequences were imposed.'
While acknowledging that Berlin has appealed the DOJ's fine, Selig said it's 'deeply troubling and ironic' that someone who advocated for strict adherence to election laws has himself been found in violation.
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'Wrongful voting undermines public trust in the electoral process and is a serious offense for any person to commit,' he said.
According to the cease-and-desist letters, the DOJ received a complaint from Berlin's brother alleging he didn't actually live with his parents. Investigators then spoke with a tenant who said Berlin lives at the Madbury property, and they reviewed other records that indicate he receives property tax bills via mail at the Madbury address and uses electricity in a manner that suggests he lives there, according to the letters.
Soltani said, however, that his client lists the Durham property on a variety of official documents, receives mail at that address, and sleeps there, though he may sometimes stay overnight elsewhere, including at the Madbury property.
Prior to the election, Berlin worked with several other Republicans, including former Boston police officer Joseph Abasciano, who
Abasciano was
Abasciano had described former vice president Mike Pence as 'treasonous,' but an internal investigation found he
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Abasciano has continued spreading allegations of electoral malfeasance. He sent an email in October 2024 to an elections attorney for the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Office, claiming the office had failed to adequately investigate concerns in Durham, so he and Berlin 'officially launched their own investigation.'
Abasciano's letter, which was co-signed by Berlin and five local GOP officials, argued he had established 'reasonable suspicion' sufficient to justify granting him access to Durham voter records.
'Any further delay to this request will be considered obstruction and interfering in an official investigation,' he wrote.
Durham officials said they released to Berlin a copy of the town's regular voter checklist, but didn't release records with details that are deemed private under state law.
Durham, which is home to the University of New Hampshire's flagship campus, is a Democratic stronghold where many UNH students use same-day voter registration to sign up and cast a ballot on Election Day — a situation that has inspired various Republican-backed efforts to tighten voter eligibility requirements in ways that impact college students.
Soltani acknowledged that Berlin had emphasized the importance of complying with election laws. His goal was to ensure all Durham voters would receive the same treatment, Soltani said.
'And he didn't get that here,' he added.
In the past six months, several other voters have been fined for either voting illegally in the 2024 general election or making false material statements while attempting to do so, according to records from the New Hampshire DOJ. The bulk of these cases involved otherwise-eligible Granite Staters who sought to cast ballots in municipalities where they no longer reside.
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But in one case, a voter was fined for maintaining an out-of-state domicile rather than establishing residency in New Hampshire.
Adam M. Finkel was fined $1,500 for wrongfully voting in Dalton, N.H., in both the state primary and general elections in 2024, according to a cease-and-desist letter the DOJ sent to him in late April. Investigators concluded that, although Finkel has a home in Dalton and has voted continuously in Dalton since 2019, his home in Pennington, N.J., is actually his primary residence.
Finkel — a vocal opponent of a proposed landfill near Dalton's Forest Lake — filed income taxes as a New Jersey resident and presented a New Jersey driver's license when checking in to vote in Dalton during the 2024 state primary, according to the DOJ's letter.
But Finkel, a Democrat, disputes the DOJ's conclusion. He said he's open to paying a fine for his failure to update his driver's license, but he doesn't think a fine for wrongful voting is warranted, especially since the DOJ website has a
Finkel said he has treated the Dalton house as his domicile for several years and hasn't voted in New Jersey since he began voting in New Hampshire. In an email, he told DOJ officials he was 'disappointed' by 'various errors of fact' in their letter and intends to appeal.
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'I look forward to my day in court,' he wrote, 'on behalf of myself and anyone else that DOJ is victimizing in this manner.'
Steven Porter can be reached at