HOUSE BILL 125 – AN ACT allowing county officers to be chosen by secret ballot, and exempting secret ballots from the right-to-know law.
We’ve already been down this road before when a county delegation (county delegation: all the NH House Reps in your respective counties) tried to do this very thing in Belknap County by using a secret ballot to select a new county Sheriff after the previous one decided to resign. The reason given by the Delegation by one former State Rep from Gilford was “I didn’t want to hurt my friends’ feelings when I voted for someone else”. Tom Tardiff and Doug Lambert (the other co-founder of GraniteGrok) sued the Belknap Delegation, pro se, and won a precedent setting decision at the NH Supreme Court. The Delegation was admonished by the Judge, essentially: do the Peoples’ business in public. Do it in public.
And here we are again. HB125 with sponsors Rep. William Marsh (Wolfeboro) and Rep. Karel Crawford (Center Harbor), both in Carroll County deciding that the County Delegations should be able to vote in secret, this time not for other County elected officials replacements but for themselves as a Delegation. This is an attempt to weaken the Right To Know law – NH RSA 91:A that protects the public’s right to know who is pulling the strings and how their government is acting (especially when the modifier of “badly” is placed in front of both “pulling” and “acting”). It seems like politicians and bureaucrats are also assaulting this law, even if they think they’re only touching it with a light feather. Each and every attempt should be rebuffed and rebuffed like the boarding party it is.
I’ve already been accused of malfeasance when talking about this bill by having the meaning of the decision, voting by secret ballot, twisted by saying it was only about filling a vacancy. Well, sure, a vacancy was the impetus of the whole sordid deal of public officials hiding their work from the public eye. The real decision was about how the public’s Right To Know who voted for whom in filling that vacancy. The vacancy itself was immaterial – it was the secret vote that was shut down and the Delegation was excoriated by the Judge.
But, but, but Skip! We do secret ballots in the House all the time, like for Speaker! Or Secretary of State!
As far as the “The Rules of the NH House” are concerned in the above argument? Sure – under House rules in which the House (and Senate) are allowed to make their own rules for their own procedures, you can do what you vote upon. They are, however, only that – rules of the House. Outside of the House, they don’t matter a whit. And shouldn’t. Don’t try it.
The County Delegation is not acting as members of the NH House (even if they are part of it and owe their membership in the County Delegation because of that House membership) when overseeing County budgets or operations. Instead, you are, in effect, the Legislative body of the County (the Commissioners being the Governing Body). There is nothing “special” about voting for County Delegation officers at the county level – man up, and stick your hands in the air, and let us see who you are voting for.
Essentially, if I am “hearing between the lines” correctly, my ears are picking up the exact same reason as was given years ago: “we don’t want to hurt our friends’ feelings”. Well, too bad. You made the public decision to run, accepeted the public’s votes to fill your seat; do the peoples business in public. If you can’t stomach it, let someone else do it.
I still say that this bill should be voted down and voted down HARD (not that the Democrats are going to listen to me on this). I stand by my comments – the voters in each County should know how their representatives voted and they should NOT be shielded from that by weakening RSA91:a.
This is a dodge against RSA 91-A and directly affects the Supreme Court decision in Tardiff/Lambert vs Belknap COunty when the delegation tried to secretly vote select a new Sheriff (NHSCOTUS said it had to be done in public). WHAT any vote is about is immaterial – it is the VOTE ITSELF that came under SCOTUS scrutiny (as well as it should have).
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Here is the sordid bill – sorry, a County Delegation is not a “country club” unto itself – VOTE IT DOWN!
HB 125 – AS INTRODUCED
2019 SESSION
19-0038
10/06
HOUSE BILL 125
AN ACT allowing county officers to be chosen by secret ballot, and exempting secret ballots from the right-to-know law.
SPONSORS: Rep. Marsh, Carr. 8; Rep. Crawford, Carr. 4
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows the county convention and the county commissioners to choose their officers by secret ballot. The bill also adds an exemption to the right-to-know law for secret ballots for the election of officers.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
19-0038
10/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
AN ACT allowing county officers to be chosen by secret ballot, and exempting secret ballots from the right-to-know law.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 County Convention; Election of Officers and Executive Committee; Secret Ballot. Amend RSA 24:2 to read as follows:
24:2 Officers and Executive Committee. At its first regular meeting, or at any subsequent meeting when necessary, the county convention shall elect a chairperson, vice-chairperson, clerk, and an executive committee. Any such election may be conducted by secret ballot. Membership on the executive committee shall be divided between majority and minority party representation in the same proportion that county convention membership of the majority party bears to county convention membership of the minority party, provided minority party membership shall be at least one member unless the convention does not include any member of the minority party. The chairperson, vice-chairperson, and clerk shall be members of the executive committee, ex officio. The county convention may designate the executive committee to act as a subcommittee to consider the budget, or other matters, and make recommendations to the county convention.
2 County Commissioners; Officers; Secret Ballot. Amend RSA 28:1 to read as follows:
28:1 Organization. The county commissioners of each county shall choose from their number a chairman, vice chairman, and a clerk; which may be conducted by secret ballot.
3 New Paragraph; Right-to-know Law; Exemptions; Secret Ballots. Amend RSA 91-A:5 by inserting after paragraph X the following new paragraph:
XI. Secret ballots for the election of officers of a municipal, state, or county board, delegation, or commission.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage
