NH counties keep register of probate positions — at least until two-thirds of voters say 'no'

With only 62.9% of voters on Tuesday choosing to eliminate the register of probate position in New Hampshire’s counties — when 66.6 of the vote was required — registers of probate will continue to operate as usual until constitutional amendments muster sufficient support to eliminate the office.

“It failed to be adopted, albeit by only a small margin. But a loss is still a loss,” outgoing State Rep. Norman Silber, R-Gilford, wrote in an email on Friday, as a co-sponsor of the change. “It’s difficult to amend our state constitution, which is as it should be. At least this year it actually made its way onto the general election ballot.”

This is the sixth or seventh year that state lawmakers have sought to nix the register of probate post, with many Democrat and Republican legislators believing the elected county position is unnecessary and obsolete.

This year, Silber and others, including Anna Brown, director of research at Citizens Count, a voter education nonprofit, believe confusion over the language used on the ballot may have led to its defeat.

Voters also turned down calling a convention to amend the state’s constitution — the second "yes" vote needed — with only 33.9% in favor.

“It might have been more helpful for the existing text of the two sections of the constitution to be presented, with the three words 'register of probate' crossed through to show that the elimination of those three words was the only change being sought. Or for it to be accompanied by an explanation from the sponsors,” Silber wrote in an email. “When a proposed constitutional amendment is not well presented or well explained, the default position for most voters is to vote 'No.' Which is also probably as it should be.”

Alan Glassman, Belknap County’s register of probate, did not respond to requests for comment. Glassman has advocated continuing the position, which he said can reduce the need for people to hire attorneys at their own expense to sort out issues related to estates and guardianships.

Silber said he believes a similar amendment will be presented to voters “again and again until it is finally adopted to eliminate this useless and obsolete elected position.”

In March and April 2022, state lawmakers favored nixing the register of probate office, an elected position, with a vote of 294 to 43 in the state House, and 21 to 3 in the state Senate. This was more than enough to bring it to a popular vote Nov. 8.

Brown said Wednesday, in story reported by Adam Drapcho for the Granite State News Collaborative, “I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of voters skipped the question or voted against it because they were not sure what the change entailed.”

She said voters haven’t approved holding a constitutional convention to make any amendment since the last one was held in 1982. By statute, a constitutional convention option comes before voters every 10 years. The question was defeated by roughly two-thirds of voters in 2012.

As of Friday, 329,157 New Hampshire voters chose to discontinue the county register of probate position through constitutional amendment, roughly 3% shy of the threshold. Only 179,339 voters statewide opted for holding a convention for the state’s constitution to be revised or amended.