This Tuesday, November 5, there is a constitutional amendment on the ballot. If you click on this link and select your town/city, you will see your town or ward’s sample ballot. At the end of the ballot, there is a constitutional amendment before the voters, which will take a 2/3 majority to pass. The Grafton County Dems Executive Committee voted unanimously to recommend a NO vote on the Constitutional Amendment.
Mary Hakken-Phillips has written a very thoughtful overview below. The Plymouth Area Dems condensed Mary’s opinion in an image or poster. VOTE NO!
2024 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT QUESTION
Constitutional Amendment Proposed by the 2023 General Court
“Are you in favor of amending article 78 of the second part of the constitution to read as follows: [Art.] 78. [Judges and Sheriffs, when Disqualified by Age.] No person shall hold the office of sheriff of any county, after the person has attained the age of seventy years. No person shall hold the office of judge of any court after the person has attained the age of seventy-five years.” (Passed by the N.H. House 321 Yes 27 No; Passed by the Senate 22 Yes 1 No) CACR 6.
Analysis, Mary Hakken-Phillips
“LEARN ABOUT THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ON YOUR BALLOT
At first blush, the question proposed above looks simple. NH’s mandatory retirement age of judges and sheriffs will raise from 70 to 75, if the amendment is approved. Seems reasonable right? No one wants to be accused of ageism — especially when we all know someone over 70 who is absolutely thriving.
But, I argue — we have more to consider for our Courts given the timing and politics involved.
Consideration 1: Please see the attached screenshot of our existing NH Supreme Court’s justices, their ages, and their respective retirement dates, according to Wikipedia. As seen, the current four conservative justices outnumber our one Democratic appointment, Justice Bassett.
Consideration 2: If the amendment doesn’t pass and existing law carries, then it appears Associate Justices Bassett and Marconi are due to retire in 2026. If the Republican becomes governor this November, Kelly Ayotte should nominate two conservative judges — replacing the last Democratic appointment and locking in a 5-0 conservative court for the foreseeable future. However, if the Democrat becomes governor, Joyce Craig will nominate two progressive judges — replacing the last Democratic appointment, gaining a second liberal mind, and improving the court’s makeup to a 3-2 slight, conservative majority court for the foreseeable future.
Consideration 3: If the amendment does pass and the mandatory retirement age for justices increases from 70 to 75, then it has implications for our near and far future. If Kelly Ayotte wins in November and the Constitutional Amendment is approved, then Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald will continue to serve until 2036, and Bassett and Marconi will also stay until 2031 virtually guaranteeing a conservative majority for far too long. Worse yet, if Joyce Craig wins in November and the Amendment passes, then she would not get a chance in her first term to appoint two nominees because of the extended mandatory retirement age timeline.
In sum —It appears that a vote in support of this amendment will mean Democrats would essentially be sealing in the current court composition and remove the small, but impactful chance to make a significant improvement to the NH Supreme Court in 2026. We’d be trading our near future chance for a far future chance to change the court.
Full disclosure here: I haven’t had a chance to think deeply about the implications on law enforcement and sheriffs’ races. But weighing the impact on our courts, I’m leaning no on the Amendment.
Do you have a different take? Email me your argument for why you think we should vote yes: mhp4nhrep@gmail.com.
Hon. Mary Hakken-Phillips