Department of Revenue Administration – Deliberative Session/Town Meeting Technical Assistance (Word Document)

 Department of Revenue Administration – FrequentlyAskedQuestions

Moderator's Memo & LGC article on - “Freedom of Speech” 

  LGC article on - “The Municipal Budget Law: Frequently Asked Questions”

 LGC article on – “What’s in a Warrant Article? Nothing Extra, Please”

 LGC article on – “The Curious Case of ‘No Means No’”

LGC article on -  “A Successful Town Meeting Requires Preparation”

LGC article on -  “The Evolution of Town Meeting”

LGC article on -  “What Do We Do with ‘Illegal’ Warrant Articles?”

LGC article on -  “Legislative Changes Affect New Hampshire Election Law”

LGC article on -  “Recovering from Procedural Errors at Town Meeting”

LGC article on -  “Don’t Get Caught on a Technicality: Tips for Avoiding Town Meeting Problems”

LGC article on -  “Common Sense Approach to Town Meeting”

LGC article on -  “Time to Prepare for a Smooth Town Meeting”

LGC article on -  “Counting Votes: What Counts?”

The following are links to Q&A articles published by the New Hampshire Local Government Center; Atkinson is a member.

Question & Answer on –  “Town Meeting Warrant Articles”

Question & Answer on -   “Supervisors of the Checklist Gear Up for Election Season”

Question & Answer on -  “Voting Issues”

 Question & Answer on -  “Local Officials Prepare for Election Season”

Question & Answer on –   “Official Ballots, Official Ballot Referendum and Secret Ballots Understanding the Differences”

Question & Answer on -   “Petitioned Warrant Articles”

Question & Answer on -  “Zoning Ordinance Changes”

Question & Answer on -   “The Municipal Budget Law: Frequently Asked Questions”

Question & Answer on -  Ten Percent Rule of Municipal Budgeting”    

Question & Answer on -  “Town Elections Are Over, But Is There a Vacancy?”

Question & Answer on -   “After Town Meeting, It’s Time for Municipal Boards to Reorganize”  

Question & Answer on -  “Post-Election Issues”

“Right To Know” in New Hampshire – The following are links to resources to assist you in understanding the law.

        Question & Answer on -  “Right to Know” for meetings

        LGC article on "Right to Know"   “The Right to Know Law”

        Memo from the NH Attorney General on "Right to Know"

        LGC article on "Right to Know"  “Remedies for Violation of the Right to Know Law”

        Case Law on "Right to Know"  WMUR Channel Nine v. NH Department of Fish and Game

RSA’s on “Electioneering” 

659:44 Electioneering at the Polling Place. – No election officer shall electioneer while in the performance of his official duties. For the purposes of this section, ""electioneer'' shall mean to act in any way specifically designed to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office. Any person who violates this provision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

659:44-a Electioneering by Public Employees. – No public employee, as defined in RSA 273-A:1, IX, shall electioneer while in the performance of his or her official duties or use government property, including, but not limited to, telephones, facsimile machines, vehicles, and computers, for electioneering. For the purposes of this section, ""electioneer'' means to act in any way specifically designed to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

From RSA 273-A:1, IX. ""Public employee'' means any person employed by a public employer except:

       (a) Persons elected by popular vote;

       (b) Persons appointed to office by the chief executive or legislative body of the public employer;

       (c) Persons whose duties imply a confidential relationship to the public employer; or

       (d) Persons in a probationary or temporary status, or employed seasonally, irregularly or on call. For the purposes of this chapter, however, no employee shall be determined to be in a probationary status who shall have been employed for more than 12 months or who has an individual contract with his employer, nor shall any employee be determined to be in a temporary status solely by reason of the source of funding of the position in which he is employed.

  31:41-c Electioneering. – Towns shall have the power to make bylaws regulating the distribution of campaign materials or electioneering or any activity which affects the safety, welfare and rights of voters at any election held for any purpose in such town. Such power shall not extend to the display of printed or written matter attached to any legally parked motor vehicle, nor shall such power extend to activities conducted wholly on private property so as not to interfere with people approaching or entering a polling place. Failure to conform to bylaws adopted under this section shall constitute a violation. A copy of the bylaws adopted under this section shall be provided to the town clerk immediately following adoption so that they may be made available to candidates filing for office, and shall be posted at each polling place at least 72 hours in advance of any town election.