Just about anyone can run for one of the 400 seats in the New Hampshire House. But you have to have been a resident of New Hampshire for at least two years. A former President of the Dartmouth Democrats says he’s running. But is the Sophomore from New York City even eligible?
Riley Gordon ’22 hails from New York City and graduated from the High School of American Studies as valedictorian. In high school, Riley was the captain of the cross-country team and president of the Student Government. At Dartmouth, Riley plans on majoring in History with a minor in Public Policy. He is heavily involved with the Dartmouth College Democrats, through which he is politically engaged during campaigns and with state representatives. He plays on the club table tennis team, and enjoys attending Swing Dance Club sessions. After graduation, Riley plans on attending law school and pursuing a career in the public sector.
If Riley declared New Hampshire as his residence when he arrived, he should be good to go. As long as you’ve lived here legally for two years before the election, you can run for the NH House. Did he?
I am a second-year student at Dartmouth College eager to be politically involved on a state and national level. I have spent the last year months volunteering and working for political organizations in the state of New Hampshire, and I am looking for opportunities in which I can put this experience to good use to make a positive difference in the legislative process.
Your Dorm address is not a permanent domicile, so we feel compelled to ask.
Are you a transient like most students (even if they did not have a First-Year Fellowship from the Office of New York US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand). Are you living on campus a few months each semester but domiciled outside the state?
Does Riley have a New Hampshire driver’s license? Is it two years old, dating roughly to before September of 2018? That would certainly establish residence for the necessary two years, but it would be odd. You arrive for college and immediately get an in-state driver’s license. Something the Democrats and your fellow students have insisted is a poll tax and a burden on anyone who lives outside the state but claims the right to vote here.
It’s not a poll tax when I or my wife or my adult children who were all born and live here pay it. Or does the state owe us a small fortune in refunds for all those license fees they collected?
I’m sure the state Democrat Party has counseled Riley on all of this. Because he is running to ensure that out-of-state students have a voice can vote in New Hampshire elections.
“My chances of winning this race are going to depend heavily on how successful I am in getting students to get their absentee ballots submitted for the state primary,” Gordon said.
That means the same Democrats that demand absentee ballot voting for everyone will demand these “students” vote by mail in New Hampshire, even if their tuition bill goes to an address out of state and they carry a license or ID with that address on it.
But if voting by absentee ballot is no hardship (Riley is counting on it), and therefore not vote suppression, why can’t they vote absentee by mail in the state and town (not in New Hampshire) where they actually live?
The answer is because if we let them vote by mail where they live, fewer Democrats would get elected in New Hampshire.
But no, this is isn’t ballot box stuffing or election fraud, we are told. Just move along. We’re not the “move along” sort so, Riley, how long have you lived here? And how (How, Dammit!) did he ever overcome the “undue burden™” of getting a New Hampshire driver’s license.
You do have one, right?
