New Hampshire voters are asked to weigh in on a lot of candidates for offices they barely understand, like Register of Probate and Executive Councilor. So it’s somewhat surprising that a more visible office, Secretary of State (SOS), isn’t one of them. Our state constitution leaves that to a vote of the legislature, at the beginning of every biennium, to elect the SOS for a two year term. Which is why on December 7th, the SOS position will come up for a vote. And for the first time since 1976, William Gardner is not running. While we do have a SOS, David Scanlan was appointed by his predecessor, not elected by the legislature. Without former Secretary Gardner in the running, this is the perfect time to consider what we should expect from our secretary of state.
Clearly, it should be someone committed to protecting our freedom to vote, and who would respect the will of the voters and certify free, fair, secure elections. But it should also be someone who would bring the office into the 21st century, by updating the website so voters can easily find information (and no, the most recent update doesn’t do that, it doesn’t even have a search function), as well as track the money behind the candidates. Now is the time to reach out to your state senator and representatives to urge them to vote for a candidate open to creating a modern, voter-friendly Secretary of State’s office.
Patrice Rasche
Canterbury