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New Hampshire Question 1, Abolish Office of Register of Probate Amendment (2022)

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New Hampshire Question 1
Flag of New Hampshire.png
Election date
November 8, 2022
Topic
Administration of government
Status
Defeatedd Defeated
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
State legislature

New Hampshire Question 1, the Abolish Office of Register of Probate Amendment, was on the ballot in New Hampshire as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported eliminating the register of probate offices and references to it within the New Hampshire Constitution. 

A "no" vote opposed eliminating the register of probate offices and references to it within the New Hampshire Constitution. 


Question 1 needed a two-thirds (66.67%) vote to be approved.

Election results

New Hampshire Question 1

Result Votes Percentage
Yes 329,157 62.88%

Defeated No

194,291 37.12%
Results are officially certified.
Source

Overview

What would this amendment have done?

See also: Constitutional changes

The amendment would have abolished the Office of Register of Probate and would have removed all references to the Register of Probate from the state constitution.

What is the Register of Probate?

See also: Register of Probate office

In the past, New Hampshire’s Register of Probate office handled issues such as simple wills. After changes were made to New Hampshire's court system in 2011, certain duties were removed from the register of probate. As of 2022, the current role of this office was to preserve files that have “the potential for historical significance," according to reporter Brian Early.[1]

How did this measure get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

The ballot measure was sponsored by Rep. Norman Silber (R-2) and Rep. Aidan K. Ankarberg (R-10). The measure was introduced to the New Hampshire General Court as Constitutional Amendment Concurrent Resolution 21 (CACR21) on November 3, 2021.

In New Hampshire, for a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to qualify for the ballot, the measure needs to pass each chamber of the New Hampshire General Court with at least a 60% vote.

On March 10, 2022, the measure was adopted in the state House with a vote of 294-43. On April 21, 2022, the measure passed the state Senate with a vote of 21-3. On May 13, 2022, the state House concurred with the Senate’s amendments by a voice vote.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:[2]

“ "Are you in favor of amending articles 71 and 81 of the second part of the constitution to read as follows: [Art.] 71. [County Treasurers, County Attorneys, Sheriffs, and Registers of Deeds Elected.] The county treasurers, county attorneys, sheriffs and registers of deeds, shall be elected by the inhabitants of the several towns, in the several counties in the State, according to the method now practiced, and the laws of the state, provided nevertheless the legislature shall have authority to alter the manner of certifying the votes, and the mode of electing those officers; but not so as to deprive the people of the right they now have of electing them.

[Art.] 81. [Judges Not to Act as Counsel.] No judge shall be of counsel, act as advocate, or receive any fees as advocate or counsel, in any probate business which is pending, or may be brought into any court of probate in the county of which he or she is judge." (Passed by the N.H. House 294 Yes 43 No; Passed by Senate 21 Yes 3 No.) CACR 21[3]

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:[2]

“ AT THE PRESENT TIME, the constitution references registers of probate while the office's duties were redistributed to circuit court clerks in 2011.

IF THE AMENDMENT IS ADOPTED, the constitution will no longer include the reference to registers of probate.

If the proposed amendment is approved by two-thirds of those voting on the amendment, it becomes effective when the governor proclaims its adoption. [3]

”


Constitutional changes

See also: New Hampshire Constitution

The ballot measure would have amended Article 71 and Article 81 of the second part of the New Hampshire Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and the following struck-through text would have been deleted:

Art. 71. County Treasurers, Registers of Probate, County Attorneys, Sheriffs, and Registers of Deeds Elected. The County Treasurers, registers of probate, County Attorneys, Sheriffs and Registers of Deeds, shall be elected by the inhabitants of the several towns, in the several counties in the State, according to the method now practiced, and the laws of the State, Provided nevertheless the Legislature shall have authority to alter the manner of certifying the votes, and the mode of electing those officers; but not so as to deprive the people of the right they now have of electing them.[3]
Art. 81. Judges and Registers of Probate Not to Act as Counsel. No judge, or register of probate, shall be of counsel, act as advocate, or receive any fees as advocate or counsel, in any probate business which is pending, or may be brought into any court of probate in the county of which he or she is judge or register.[3]

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 9, and the FRE is 62. The word count for the ballot title is 171.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 13, and the FRE is 37. The word count for the ballot summary is 62.


Support

Supporters

Officials

Arguments

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

Arguments

  • Alan Glassman, Belknap County Register of Probate: “Feedback from many NH residents after encountering very limited assistance at the courthouse is that they have been advised to seek an attorney if they are unable to properly submit the necessary information. If we still had functioning registers of probate to help, most residents would not have to deal with attorneys and their associated legal fees."


Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for New Hampshire ballot measures

Ballotpedia did not locate political action committees supporting or opposing the ballot measure.[4]

Cash Contributions In-Kind Contributions Total Contributions Cash Expenditures Total Expenditures
Support $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Oppose $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

Background

Register of Probate office

The Register of Probate is an elected office in some states. The office had previously handled wills, the administration of estates, trusts, guardianships, adoptions, and name changes.

In New Hampshire, prior to 2011, the Register of Probate office handled simple wills. But after 2011, when the New Hampshire state legislature approved a reorganization of the court system, many of the official duties of the Register of Probate office were stripped. After 2011, the primary job of the Register of Probate is to preserve files that have “the potential for historical significance.”[1]

In 2013, former Hillsborough County register of probate Joseph Kelly Levasseur filed a writ of prohibition with the state Supreme Court, saying that the transfer of duties from the register of probate was unconstitutional, due to the duties being transferred to an unelected position. The attorney general objected to the writ, and then the Supreme Court denied the writ.[1]

New Hampshire ballot measure historical facts

See also: List of New Hampshire ballot measures

In New Hampshire, a total of 21 ballot measures appeared on statewide ballots between 1985 and 2018. Seven ballot measures were approved, and 14 ballot measures were defeated.

New Hampshire statewide ballot measures, 1985-2018
Total number Annual average Annual minimum Annual maximum Approved Defeated
# % # %
21
0.54
0
3
7
33.33
14
66.67

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the New Hampshire Constitution

In New Hampshire, a 60 percent vote in each house of the New Hampshire General Court is needed during one legislative session to refer a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

For 2022 constitutional amendments, a minimum of 201 votes were required in the House and 13 votes were required in the Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

The ballot measure was introduced as Constitutional Amendment Concurrent Resolution 21 (CACR21) to the New Hampshire General Court on November 3, 2021. The measure was sponsored by Republican Representatives Norman Silber and Aidan Ankarberg. It was adopted in the state House on March 10, 2022, with a vote of 294-43. It was amended and passed in the state Senate on April 21, 2022, with a vote of 21-3. On May 13, 2022, the state House concurred with the Senate’s amendments by a voice vote.[5]

Vote in the New Hampshire State Senate
April 21, 2022
Requirement: Three-fifths (60 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 14  Approveda
YesNoNot voting
Total2130
Total percent87.5%12.5%0%
Democrat1000
Republican1130

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in New Hampshire

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in New Hampshire.

How to vote in New Hampshire


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Foster's Daily Democrat, "Register of probates up for election have few responsibilities," June 9, 2018
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 New Hampshire Secretary of State, "2022 voters guide" accessed Oct 6, 2022
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
  4. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance," accessed August 27, 2022
  5. ↑ New Hampshire State Legislature, "Docket of CACR21," accessed May 18, 2022
  6. ↑ New Hampshire Revised Statutes - Title 63, Chapter 659.4," accessed April 25, 2023
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 New Hampshire Secretary of State, “How to Register to Vote,” accessed June 25, 2024
  8. ↑ New Hampshire Secretary of State, “Register to Vote,” accessed June 25, 2024
  9. ↑ General Court of New Hampshire, "CHAPTER 378 HB 1569-FN - FINAL VERSION," accessed November 14, 2024
  10. ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 State of New Hampshire, "Voter ID Law Explanatory Document," accessed October 7, 2025
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