What does the question on Tuesday’s ballot mean?

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MANCHESTER, NH – Although it remains unclear whether the charter amendment regarding the Manchester School District and the Manchester Board of School Committee will be legally enforceable, the question going before voters on Tuesday’s primary ballot regarding the city’s charter is much simpler.

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Section 8.03(a) is on the ballot on Tuesday. Section 8.03(b) is the result of the vote in November 2020.

Under Section 8.03 of the Manchester City Charter (see above), the city is required to ask voters at least once every 10 years whether to establish a charter commission to investigate either proposing amendments to the current charter or proposing an entirely new charter.

A “yes” vote authorizes the charter commission to be established. A “no” vote means that a charter commission is not established.

The makeup of a charter commission is laid out under New Hampshire Revised Statute (NH RSA) Annotated Chapter 49-B:4 and any recommendations to voters by a charter commission are presented under the guidelines in NH RSA Chapter 49-B:3 and NH RSA 49-B:6

Aldermen and “petitioner’s committees” can also propose charter amendments under RSA 49-B:5

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A sample ballot from Ward 1 with the question

About this Author

Andrew Sylvia

Assistant EditorManchester Ink Link

Born and raised in the Granite State, Andrew Sylvia has written approximately 10,000 pieces over his career for outlets across Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. On top of that, he's a licensed notary and licensed to sell property, casualty and life insurance, he's been a USSF trained youth soccer and futsal referee for the past six years and he can name over 60 national flags in under 60 seconds according to that flag game app he has on his phone, which makes sense because he also has a bachelor's degree in geography (like Michael Jordan). He can also type over 100 words a minute on a good day.