Are you ready?
In March, many of our communities are electing mayors and members to the school board, library board, select board and city council. You should be able to find a sample ballot on your town website to know who is running. If not, call or email your town clerk. To find their contact information, click on the SOS voter information link .
Check your town’s candidate list. Do you know what skills these candidates need for the positions they wish to fill? Do you know what experience and qualifications these candidates bring? And most important — do these candidates reflect your values?
The officials you elect in your community and the decisions they make shape your everyday life. They are responsible for the conditions of your roads; how schools are funded; they guide urban planning, immigration policy and policing. The very things, I might add, that Rep. Wendy Thomas, D-Merrimack, spoke about at the Merrimack Town Hall ICE Protest last Saturday.
Equally important, we need to test out the new New Hampshire voting laws and see if we have the right papers to vote! A lawsuit filed last month challenges a recent New Hampshire law that would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote and photo identification when casting a ballot.
Be prepared. Watch the video of New Hampshire Secretary of State Scanlan on recent changes to the NH election law, including student voting registration, real ID and what to do if you have been removed from the rolls. Click on voter information on the SOS voter information website to see if you are in the system and to find your local election office for details. And remember to bring a photo ID to the polls; no photo ID, no ballot.