I emailed this letter to the members and member-elect of the NH Senate so that each might read for themselves the facts about the complaint I filed with the NH Ballot Commission (BLC) questioning the residency qualifications of Jon Morgan, candidate for Senate District 23. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the BLC did NOT rule on the merits of my complaint. They voted that because my complaint was not filed in a “timely manner” – within 3 days of the results of the September 11, 2018 primary – that it did not have JURISDICTION and instead, to send it to the Senate for it to decide.
Transmitted Electronically:
December 2, 2018
Honorable ladies and gentlemen,
Enclosed you will find copies of a complaint and accompanying documents I filed on November 4, 2018 with the Secretary of State’s office and those submitted subsequently to the Ballot Law Commission on November 26, 2018.
The complaint is based on Mr. Morgan’s own words captured on video on October 29, 2018, from his campaign website and from at least one newspaper account that call his qualification for election to NH senate into question.
Specifically:
- At 42:38 in that video, he states that he has lived in Brentwood for “about six and one half years”…he later states he cannot remember whether he voted in the 2012 presidential election”;
- His candidate webpage states that following graduation from college [2004], he took a job in Washington, DC; after which he created “a firm…focused on Africa where Katie and I two years prior to returning to the Granite State” ; and, “Upon our return, I completed a MBA” at the University of North Carolina which his LinkedIn Account notes took place between 2013-2015 [NB: Mr. Morgan’s LinkedIn accounts makes no mention of his two years in Africa];
- In April of 2018, the Carriage Towne News reported that Morgan and his wife “returned to New Hampshire in 2012”.
- In the document submitted to the Ballot Law Commission by Mr. Morgan’s attorneys, the only date-certain they or he offer is September 14, 2011, the date on which he surrendered another state’s license (presumably Virginia) and obtained a NH driver’s license; registered to vote in Brentwood and obtained a Brentwood “certificate of residency” and,
- Six (6) years and 9 (nine) months later, Morgan filed to run for Senate District 23. Even if one presumes one can swear to something that has not yet occurred – that of winning the September 11, 2018 primary – Morgan is still short of the “at least seven year” residency requirement to which he swore before a notary public.
You may have been told that the NH Ballot Law Commission “ruled” on the merits or lack thereof of my complaint; that is not true.
The Ballot Law Commission voted that because my complaint was not filed in a “timely fashion“, three days after the primary election results were public (NH RSA 665:6), it did not have jurisdiction, and lacking jurisdiction, to refer the matter to the NH Senate who, by virtue of [Art.] 35. of the NH Constitution “shall be final judges of the elections, returns, and qualifications, of their own members…”
You may choose to ignore my complaint, you may choose to ignore Article 29 of the NH Constitution, you may choose to ignore Mr. Morgan’s affidavit; and you may chose make up rules to suit your own desires.
I am hopeful you will choose to do none of the above.
Morgan Docs Submitted to BLC_redacted_RedactedComplaint_Stamped by NH SOSMorgan Screen ShotsCarriage Towne News April 26 2018Morgan filing papers_0002Morgan LinkedInBLC Email Lack of Jurisdiction