Rollinsford Town Meeting 2017 Moderator ’s Finding and Order Postponement and Rescheduling of Town Voting Day I have determined that there is a reasonable basis to believe that Rollinsford roads will be hazardous or unsafe on March 14, 2017 and therefore postpone the voting day under the 2017 Rollinsford Town Meeting Warrant to March 16, 2017. Background The National Weather Service (NWS) has declared a Winter Storm Warning in effect for Strafford County, which includes Rollinsford, from March 14, 2017 7:00 AM EDT until March 15, 2017 5:00 AM EDT. The detailed forecast posted on the NWS website as of 10:26 AM EDT March 13 provides: Snow. Areas of blowing snow in the afternoon. Snow may be heavy at times in the afternoon with visibility one quarter mile or less at times. Snow accumulation of 8 to 12 inches. Highs in the mid 20s. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow near 100 percent. Tuesday Night Areas of blowing snow in the evening. Snow...mainly in the evening. Snow may be heavy at times in the evening with visibility one quarter mile or less at times. Additional heavy snow accumulation. Lows around 20. North winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph...becoming northwest 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph after midnight. Chance of snow near 100 percent.

I participated in a conference call hosted by the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division of the Department of Safety at noon on March 13. State officials on the call discussed the importance of minimizing travel during the heaviest parts of the storm and the importance of public safety. Other Rollinsford officials participated in a conference call with the Governor at 2 PM. The Governor has indicated that there is some ambiguity in the applicable state statutes, but the State will not challenge decisions by local officials to postpone and reschedule voting day. In addition, I have conferred with the Select Board, Town Clerk and Police Chief/Emergency Management Director at an emergency meeting noticed under RSA 91-A this morning. The Chief reminded me that in addition to driving hazards, parking at Town Hall during a major event is likely to be disrupted, public service workers would have to be diverted from other tasks to maintaining steps and pathways, and in the event of power outage the room in town hall where voting and counting are to occur will be converted to an emergency shelter. The Select Board has expressed a strong preference for minimizing risks for all voters, especially to elderly voters, of travel during a major storm event. The Town Clerk has expressed her willingness to cooperate with voting on March 13 and has expressed a willingness to convene election staff on March 16. Although the Road Agent was not present at the meeting, my understanding is that the safety and efficiency of snow removal operations during heaving winter storms is greatly improved by minimizing travel on the roadways in town. I discussed strategies for notifying Rollinsford voters with other officials. The town email list, social media contacts, the local newspaper, the town website and the local television station are all avenues for notifying voters of the postponement of the voting day. Officials were open to the suggestion of including a recommendation to “call a neighbor” as well in public notices.

I understand that the Select Board has conferred with the Town’s bond counsel as well. My understanding is that bond counsel does not object to invoking RSA 40:4, II to postpone and reschedule the voting day. Analysis RSA 40:4 provides, in relevant part: In the event a weather emergency occurs on or before the date of a deliberative session or voting day of a meeting in a town, which the moderator reasonably believes may cause the roads to be hazardous or unsafe, the moderator may, up to 2 hours prior to the scheduled session, postpone and reschedule the deliberative session or voting day of the meeting to another reasonable date, place, and time certain. The date originally scheduled shall continue to be deemed the deliberative session or voting day of the meeting for purposes of satisfying statutory meeting date requirements; . . . . The moderator shall employ whatever means are available to inform citizens of the postponement and the rescheduled deliberative session or voting day. N.H. RSA 40:4, II (emphasis added). The New Hampshire Secretary of State has made public statements, confirmed in phone conversations with Rollinsford Town Officials that RSA 40:4 does not have legal effect, despite its plain language, and is preempted by RSA 669:1 which requires that “voting day” be the second Tuesday in March. I disagree. The Town Meeting warrant, RSA 39:2, expressly includes town elections. RSA chapter 40, which relates to the function of moderators and the government of town meeting, expressly provides in RSA 40:4 that the original date of town elections “shall continue to be deemed the deliberative session or voting day of the meeting for purposes of satisfying statutory meeting date requirements.” RSA 40:4, II. On its face, therefore, there is no conflict between RSA 669:1 and RSA 40:4, because elections held under this order on March 16 will be “deemed” to have occurred on March 14, the second Tuesday of March. Further, my understanding that a legislative intention to preempt a statute must be apparent on the face of the statutes or clear from the overall content and structure of the statutes. The plain language of chapter 669 does not repeal chapter 40 in general or RSA 40:4, II in particular. Chapter 669 does prescribe extensive rules for the manner of conducting town elections, but its plain language does not address the question of storm events on election days, does not endow the Secretary of State with authority over the conduct of town elections generally and does not specifically grant the Secretary of State authority to nullify chapter 40 or RSA 40:4. Even if the apparent conflict between RSA 40:4 and Chapter 669 that the Secretary of State points to were deemed to require analysis of legislative history, the legislative history available on the General Court website does not support his assertion that RSA 669 preempts RSA 40:4. The Legislature apparently amended RSA 40:4 in 1998 to establish the moderator’s authority to postpone town meetings and town elections in storm events. 1998 N.H. Pub. L 278:1. RSA 669:1 was last amended in 2000, and the Legislature – and apparently the Secretary of State who was in office at that time – did not seek to clarify the interaction between RSA 669:1 and RSA 40:4. If the Legislature or the Secretary of State believed that RSA 40:4 contravened the election statute they certainly could have sought to reconcile the two statutes at that time.

The New Hampshire Municipal Association has expertise and experience in municipal law and has staff attorneys who respond to inquiries from local officials. NHMA has reaffirmed its position that RSA 40:4, II authorizes towns to postpone and reschedule voting day in a weather emergency. Finally, the New Hampshire Constitution guarantees that “polling places shall be easily accessible to all persons including disabled and elderly persons who are otherwise qualified to vote in the choice of any officer or officers to be elected or upon any question submitted at such election.” N.H. Const. Art. 11. RSA 40:4, II provides an orderly, predictable, and fair mechanism for assuring that the opportunity to vote is extended to the broadest cross-section of eligible voters during storm emergencies that fall on election day or town meeting day(s). The Secretary of State’s assertion that election days can never be postponed due to snow does not uphold the principles of open elections guaranteed by the State constitution. I find that his unilateral assertion of authority to preempt RSA 40:4 does not make the postponement of tomorrow’s election unlawful. Order I believe that the predicted weather emergency on voting day, March 14, 2017, may reasonably be expected to cause the roads in Rollinsford to be hazardous or unsafe. For the safety of voters the voting day is hereby postponed until March 16, 2017 from 7 AM to 7 PM. March 14, the date originally scheduled to be voting day shall continue to be deemed the voting day of the meeting for purposes of satisfying statutory meeting date requirements. I request the assistance of Rollinsford citizens and town officials to inform our fellow citizens and voters of the postponement and rescheduled voting day. Charles Putnam Moderator