‘Electioneering’ within voting area
Question: The Town election is coming up and I am concerned that my voting rights may be violated but I am not sure. Let me explain, the last election I voted at, I overheard a conversation between one of our selectmen and a voter inside the Bow Community Center where we vote. The selectman was telling the voter to not vote for the candidate who I was going to vote for. What the selectman was doing did not sound right to me. Also this selectman’s wife was running around with a campaign button inside the polling area and I am pretty sure that is not legal as well but I don’t know what the law is. Are what the selectman and his wife did legal?
BCC Answer: What you told me is very serious and you should tell the moderator as soon as you witnessed it. The law that you saw violated are RSA 659:43 & 659:44. If the moderator fails to take action you should tell the other selectmen and they should take action. Your last recourse would be to call the attorney general. A selectman should know better and not break the public trust in this way. You should not feel bad if you report this behavior.