Ginger Hankins: Residency requirements are obstacle to younger Legislature participation

To The Daily Sun,

The average age of a New Hampshire state legislator is 61; the highest in the nation. According to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, millennials made up 26% of the 2015 population, but only 1% of the state Legislature.

This doesn’t happen by accident. The Republican controlled Statehouse, governor and Executive Council make the rules.

To run for U.S. Congress or U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, candidates only need to be a resident of the state when elected. In fact there were two candidates running in the primary for the 1st Congressional district who did not live in the CD1 until right before the September election. All perfectly legal under the U.S. Constitution.

Pivot to the New Hampshire state Senate where candidates must have been a resident of the state for seven consecutive years. Raise a hand if readers are under the age of 40 and they’ve lived in the same place for seven years. That includes the period of a global pandemic.

Most of the 50 states have a three month to one year residency requirement for state Senate candidates. New Hampshire’s seven year residency requirement is absurd, and it creates an obstacle for participation by young people.

Voting matters. Vote blue on Nov. 3. First order of business for the new Statehouse and Executive Council should be to reverse this draconian residency requirement and other restrictions that have been placed on free and fair elections in New Hampshire.

Ginger Hankins

Wolfeboro