Every ten years, New Hampshire voters are asked to vote on “Question Proposed pursuant to Part II, Article 100 of the New Hampshire Constitution. ‘Shall there be a convention to amend or revise the constitution?'”
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions on what would happen if the voters of New Hampshire elected to hold a Constitutional Convention. Some people think this is a convention to modify the federal constitution, others believe it would eliminate the current State Constitution.
According to the 2012 Voters Guide – Explanation of Constitutional Amendment Questions published by the Secretary of State: “If a simple majority of the voters who vote on this question [question 3] vote YES, the 2013 Legislature will set a time for election of delegates to the convention. Delegates will be elected in the same manner and same number as the members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
Should the voters elect to hold a convention, delegates may, by a three-fifths vote, propose amendments to the Constitution. However, just like proposals for amendments made by the Legislature, such amendments only become effective if they are adopted at a later election by two-thirds of the voters.”
Current State Rep. Seth Cohn wrote, “In favor, as things cannot get through the Senate, and some reforms are needed to protect rights under threat. Items still need to get a 60% majority of the people.”
I would like to reiterate what Seth wrote. There are some changes that I would like to see and I know they will not pass the Legislature. On November 6, join me in voting for Question 3.
