Rep. Joyce Weston: Be prepared for the statewide ballot questions

To The Daily Sun,

There will be two questions on the Nov. 8 ballots this year that have to do with the New Hampshire Constitution. Here is a brief synopsis of the questions.

1) The first question is about the office of the register of probate, which is now an obsolete position. Prior to 2011, the probate register in each county handled simple wills, but those duties were stripped when the court system was reorganized in 2011. Getting rid of the office in Article 71 of the  Constitution makes perfect sense. (Note that the question on the ballot does not use the words “register of probate.” This is because they have been struck out to amend the language of the article. Don’t let this be confusing. This should pass easily.)

2) The second question asks if you think we should hold a convention to amend or revise the NH Constitution. This request comes up every 10 years and was overwhelmingly rejected last time in 2012. It is simply unnecessary to hold an expensive and cumbersome convention. Why is a convention unnecessary? Because the Legislature — the elected NH Senate and House members — can make changes to the Constitution by a two-thirds vote when it seems required, and we have done just that in the recent past. Let’s save time and money by voting “no” on this one.

Rep. Joyce Weston

Plymouth