A few days ago, we reported on what we thought was “an issue” with the New Hampshire legislature’s online reporting portal. The Granite State lets you “sign-in” to the legislature’s website to show support or opposition to a bill and even provide written testimony. This was adopted (presumably) because a lot of people can’t be at hearings, or the distance is just too great for a few minutes in front of a committee.
It seems like a reasonable compromise, but anyone from anywhere using fake names, towns, and email addresses can weigh in and provide their thoughts on any bill. The numbers for or against and any comments that matter could be lost in the white noise of spammers. And the IT department and people in the know have known this. It’s a feature, not a bug. (emphasis mine).
Good morning,
[redacted] forwarded me your email regarding the General Court bill sign-in process.
The New Hampshire General Court has long maintained the ability for Granite Staters to share their views of pending legislation, whether by testifying at a public hearing on every bill or communicating with their elected representatives.
The online sign-in page is another way for the public to participate in the legislative process. We do not limit who may submit their views, or what they have to say. Representatives and Senators are free to consider this submitted testimony when debating bills, but the online sign-ins do not represent a poll or referendum in any way. The raw numbers of people supporting or opposing a bill should not be considered a representative sample of the views of all Granite Staters.
I hope this addresses your concern. Thank you for sharing your views with us.
Sincerely,
Grant Bosse
Deputy Chief of Staff
New Hampshire Senate
Okay, and maybe there’s a good reason for that, technically or practically, but it seems like the online form should include a disclaimer. Like, “No one is required to consider either your selection for or against the legislation or to read any testimony you’ve provided.”
A sorter version might be, “Thanks for wasting your valuable time. Someone might give a damn, but we’re not checking.”
Am I being too harsh?
Is this feature something a bunch of citizen legislators who get paid 100.00 a year should care enough about that it is managed to limit it to granite staters and restrict the number of online votes (comes with costs) and made available to the committee before exec-ing a bill? I mean, the Legislator drove all the way there, so why can’t you? And you can email your reps and the committee directly from the comfort of almost anywhere.
My sense is that if you have the feature, you should either secure it or disclose its nature on the online form before people use it.
Am I asking too much?
