Tuesday, March 11, 2025 is town meeting day in New Hampshire! Voters in towns across the state have the opportunity and responsibility to elect new School Board members, Select Board members, Planning Board members, Zoning Board members, other local government officials, and vote on important warrant articles and budgets.
Tuesday is your chance to make sure your voice is heard and that the candidates your town elects and the budgets your town and school districts pass reflect the values of hardworking Granite Staters.
With full Republican control at the State House, there has never been a more important time for responsible leadership and choices at the local level. Just last year, under full Republican control at the state level, statewide property taxes increased by $100.7 million, a 38.3% increase.
And given the latest budget proposal from Governor Ayotte, local taxpayers can expect nothing different in the coming year. Instead of making a meaningful commitment to reducing property taxes, Ayotte opted to criticize town officials and, according to the Keene Sentinel “issued a finger wagging warning” to them to do more with less state funding.
With hardworking Granite Staters bearing the brunt of an ever-increasing property tax burden and a Republican-controlled state government seeming uninterested in reducing property taxes, it’s critical that you exercise your right to vote in these critical elections and ensure the results of Tuesday’s elections reflect the values of your community.
Let’s take a look at how you can make your voice heard by casting a ballot in your local election participating in the town meeting tomorrow:
How to Participate in Your Local Elections or Town Meeting
Before arriving at the polls, it’s important to confirm that you are registered to vote. Granite Staters can check their registration status online or by contacting their local town or city clerk. Remember, if you are not registered (or not registered at your current address), you can register at the polls on Election Day.
These will be the first elections under which new voter registration requirements will be implemented. HB 1569, which was signed into law by former Governor Chris Sununu, requires Granite Staters to provide identification and proof of citizenship in order to register to vote with no exceptions. This law eliminated all exceptions to the state's prior voter ID requirements and affidavit ballot system.
To register at the polls, you will need to prove your identity, age, citizenship, and domicile (physical address), so make sure to bring one of the following forms of identification:
US Citizenship: birth certificate, US passport, naturalization papers
Identity and Age: driver’s license, government-issued photo ID, passport
NH Residence: driver’s license, government-issued photo ID, lease agreement or utility bill listing your primary residence address (domicile)
For further information on identification requirements, please refer to the NH Secretary of State’s Official Registration Guidance.
Be sure to confirm where your designated polling place is located. That information can be found here. Additionally, check your local polling location’s hours of operation to plan your visit and determine a convenient time for you to go vote.
Even though most towns do, some are not holding their town meetings on Tuesday, so if you’re not sure if your town is having a town meeting on Tuesday, you should contact your town clerk: https://app.sos.nh.gov/clerkinformation. To learn more about town meetings in New Hampshire, click here.
If you live in a city or town not holding elections or a town meeting on Tuesday, encourage any of your friends and family in those towns to vote in these important local contests.
What to Look For At Town Meeting or On Your Ballot
The Republican-controlled state government here in New Hampshire is forcing higher costs down onto local taxpayers more than ever. This “down-shifting” of costs could be prevented by the state living up to their financial responsibilities rather than passing the buck onto our local taxpayers. With that in mind, here’s a few things to keep in mind as you participate in your local elections:
Is your property tax rate going up? If so, changes made by the Republican-controlled State House are to blame:
Instead of sending 40% of Rooms and Meals tax revenue back to cities and towns as originally conceived, the state is sending only 30%. On top of that, the state reduced the amount the state collects by more than $30 million per year in 2021. All this adds up to millions of dollars not being sent back to towns to reduce property tax rates.
The state is supposed to pick up 35% of state pension costs for our towns and cities for town and school employees. Instead, Republicans in Concord have eliminated any state contribution. This means that the state is short-changing towns and cities by about $130 million per year, which in turn forces property taxes to increase.
Under Republican control, the state created a new voucher program that sends property tax money intended for public schools to private, religious, and home schools. In 2024, this program diverted nearly $28 million dollars away from public schools, leading to property tax increases locally.
Is the state living up to their Constitutional requirement to adequately fund your public school? If not, the Republican-controlled State House is to blame
A court decision in 2023 ruled that the State is underfunding public education by close to $1 billion per year. The case is still being appealed, but this lack of state funding is raising your property taxes.
Late in 2024, the state proposed cutting special education funding, which would result in higher costs and property taxes for local communities.
Are people blaming local officials for the state’s failures? Republicans at the State House are trying to hide from not adequately reducing costs for taxpayers:
As the Keene Sentinel said in a recent editorial, Governor Ayotte “issued a finger wagging warning” to local officials telling them to do more with less state funding.
To further pass the blame, Republicans in Concord have proposed that state officials should have more control over town budgets.
Join Our Next Training This Wednesday!
This Wednesday, March 12, Amplify NH will be hosting our latest Digital 101 training from 6:00 PM- 7:00 PM for anyone just starting out in the digital activism space. We’ll cover all the basics you will need to get started expanding your activism from in person to online. From a breakdown of different social media platforms, to how to amplify content across platforms and audiences, to starting to create your own content, this training is perfect for anyone! You can sign up for the training below:
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Not signed up for Bluesky yet? Not sure how to best utilize this growing social media platform? Keep an eye out for our next Amplify NH training session on Bluesky early in 2025!
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Thank you,
Ryan Mahoney
Executive Director