Ayotte Staffer Bars Voter from Entering Amherst Town Hall Event

AMHERST, NH — Political hay is being made in the Granite State this afternoon after a New Hampshire voter was kept out of a town hall event in Amherst with New Hampshire’s Junior Senator that was billed online, on the community's municipal website, as a public event. According to the New Hampshire Democratic Party, a "constituent" attempted to attend a town hall event featuring U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, and Joni Ernst, R-IA, who is in the state campaigning for Ayotte’s re-election this November.

The event, which occurred at 10 a.m. on Sept. 9, 2016, was billed as a “town hall event” on the Amherst town website. Events posted on municipal websites tend to be open to the public – not private, political events. The notice said nothing about the event being ticketed or that tickets were required to attend.

However, when the woman tried to attend the event, she was kept out because she didn’t have a ticket. The video of the interaction between the woman and a campaign staffer was recorded and posted on YouTube this afternoon.

The event, according to a press statement from Ayotte’s campaign this week, was billed as a “Veterans Town Hall.” Ernst and Ayotte also campaigned together in Nashua last night, attending a happy hour event at Peddler’s Daughter on Main Street. The Senators have events in Windham and Kingston this afternoon.

NextGen Climate NH also protested at a “meet and greet” event with Ayotte and Ernst in Manchester this morning, targeting the Senators for supporting GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

According to Liz Johnson from the Ayotte campaign, the event was a private political event and the campaign paid to rent the space.

An email to Amherst Town Administrator James M. O’Mara Jr. requesting the amount the campaign paid to rent the hall had not been returned to Patch before posting.

The NHDP lashed out at Ayotte for the snub.

"For Kelly Ayotte to bar a constituent from this public event shows a contempt for New Hampshire citizens that's only matched by her voting record in Washington," said Melissa Miller, the NHDP press secretary. "This is just the latest example of Ayotte refusing to do her job and be accountable to the people who elected her to office and pay her salary with their hard-earned tax dollars."