State Officials: Despite Storm, Town Elections Can't Be Postponed

CONCORD, NH — State officials have issued a memorandum explaining state law to local officials about town elections – despite the expectation of between 12 to 18 inches of snow around the New Hampshire. The alert – issued by William Gardner, the Secretary of State, and Gordon MacDonald, the state’s attorney general – reminded town officials of a memo issued by the state earlier in the month noting that New Hampshire law does not contain a provision that authorizes any public official to postpone an election.

“Although town moderators may postpone deliberative sessions (in SB 2 towns) and the business meetings of the town (in towns that have adopted RSA 39:2-a) due to weather emergencies, the law does not authorize local or state officials to postpone the town elections,” according to the alert. “For most towns, tomorrow is the town election day and, therefore, cannot be postponed. In the event that a town is scheduled to have both its town election and its business meeting per RSA 39:2-a, only the business meeting of the town may be postponed.

The Attorney General’s Office will be operating its Election Day Hotline tomorrow. That number is 866-868-3703. In addition, the Attorney General’s Office will be deploying roving teams to monitor and assist towns with implementing the changes to the same-day registration requirements established by Senate Bill 3, according to the notice.

Image via Tony Schinella, Patch staff.