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Windems March Newsletter

Contents:
Caucus/March Meeting
Town Meeting
Mission Statement Project
Get Active Issues: Education, Voting Rights
Save the Date 
Windham Recount Update
Tuesday, March 16th. 6:30pm   
https://bit.ly/2ZV3JEq to register - you will be sent the zoom link.

Caucus to Elect Officers & Delegates

     The March Meeting is an important vote for the Windems. Any Windham resident, registered as a Democrat, is qualified to vote. We have new candidates and some returning officers running for the four Executive positions and four delegate seats. Chair Kristi St. Laurent and Secretary Ellen McCahon  are stepping down and Vice Chair Roman is  running for Chair - the Executive Board is undergoing big changes!  The Guest speaker will be Larry Drake, the Chair of the Rockingham County Democrats. As always, non-Democratic registered voters and out of town guests are welcome to attend the meeting.
     All registered Democrats in Windham are eligible to vote in the caucus election for town Democratic committee officers and for Windham delegates to the Democratic State Convention. We encourage as many registered Democrats as possible to attend the caucus. For more information, email windems@windems.org
     
Meet your officer candidates: 
Chair - Valerie Roman
My name is Valerie Roman, and I am running for Chair of the Windems. I have lived in Windham with my husband since 1986 and our two adult sons grew up here.

In 2010, I retired after a four-decade career in technology management: Chief of Systems Analysis and Design at the US Census Bureau in Washington DC, Technology Director for the City of Cambridge MA, and Technology Director for Phillips Academy in Andover MA. I now provide technology consulting services to municipalities and schools. I am a Wellesley College graduate and a published author of two books.

I have been involved in national democratic causes and campaigns since 1976, and became active with the Windems and local, county, and state politics after I retired. In addition to being a committee member, I have served as an At-Large Delegate and as Vice Chair.

My goal as Chair is to bring renewed interest and increased membership to the committee. With a newly created Mission Statement and dedicated committee members, my hope is to work as a team to educate and expand the understanding of democratic values in Windham, as well as to have fun.

Vice Chair - Kenna McLeod
I’m Kenna McLeod and am running for Vice Chair of the Windems. I moved to Windham in 1997 with my husband and two small children to take on a new professional role as a technical manager at Lucent Technologies in North Andover, MA. I had just returned from a year-long assignment in Nuremberg, Germany after working as a manufacturing engineer in Columbus, Ohio for the previous 10 years.

When our children were attending the Windham schools, I developed the PTA website and acted as the webmaster for the PTA. I also supported building a new high school and was a member of the WISE (Windham Initiative to Support Education) communications committee. We developed a communications campaign providing factual information to educate voters with the goal of passing the high school bonds. I jointly developed the WISE website and developed the material presented at the neighborhood house parties and information sessions.

In my pursuit to help children, I have volunteered my time as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) to advocate in court for abused and neglected children and to provide information to judges for making decisions in the best interests of the children.

I have been undeclared for most of my life to avoid being labeled and in hopes of retaining an open mind. After voting for democratic candidates almost exclusively, however, and after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, I registered as a Democrat. My reason for doing so was to get involved with like-minded people and to work with them in building a future in which everyone has a voice, has educational and economic opportunities, and is treated with dignity and respect. I’d like to take a role with the Windems in hopes that together we can make a difference in our local community, in our state, and in our country.

The email reminder for the meeting will feature messages from the Secretary and Treasurer candidates (Catherine Robertson-Souter and Karen Clark, respectively). If you do not receive the monthly email updates, please contact windems@windems.org.

Tuesday, March 9. Windham High School 7am - 8pm.
     The Town and School District elections are Tuesday, March 9th. Visit the Town website to view the 2021 Annual Town Meeting Page. View the Final Town Warrant and Budget (including zoning) and the 2021 Warrant Explained for the Selectboard items and budget in plain language.
     You can view the School District Warrant information here: FY 22 School District Voting Information - Windham School District (windhamsd.org). You can view the school district plain language explanations page 1 HERE and page 2 HERE.
     You can view the sample ballots for the town, zoning and school here: Voter Information | Windham, NH  That page also includes a list of candidates for all positions as well as information about Absentee voting and registering to vote. The Windham Independent has been running candidate letters, letters of recommendation and information and opinions on the many Warrant items. Current and earlier issues are available at the library, current issues are at local gas stations & The Village Bean. The current issue includes sample ballots.
     With COVID restrictions the Town Candidates night and the Windems Ballot Information Night did not come together. The PTA held a candidates' night for the uncontested races for two positions, available here.
     There are many good candidates running for town offices. For independent and critical thinkers in the contested races, consider Roger Hohenberger and Ross McLeod for Selectmen, Derek Monson and Matt Rounds for Planning Board and Michelle Stith for Zoning Board of Adjustment.
     Please be sure to vote and remember same-day registration is available if needed. Remember to bring your photo ID to vote. Registration document requirements can be found HERE, scroll halfway down the page to "Registering to Vote".
Warrant Article 19
NH's Executive District 2, gerrymandered to span from the seacoast to the western border and down to the MA border.
The Town Warrant includes Article 19 - a Citizens Petition to see if the Town of Windham will vote to urge the NH General Court (House & Senate) to create fair district maps in a transparent process for Redistricting (reworking NH's Congressional and State districts every 10 years following the census). Ten years ago the maps were drawn behind closed doors, released the day before the hearing. NH deserves better. Please support Article 19 to encourage equitable and transparent redistricting.
The Windems are working on a Mission Statement! Click HERE to view the current draft. The revision process will be discussed at the March meeting.
     COVID precautions mean that registering support or opposition for bills in the NH Legislature is easy to do remotely. Last month's issue of the newsletter included information on how to do this (read it HERE).
     Quick links are found HERE, right-hand column, grey box: "Links to Remote Meetings". Check the calendar to see what is being discussed and when, use the Remote Testimony button to sign in, support/oppose and sign up for verbal testimony. The confirmation page will include a link to submit written testimony (whether you signed up for verbal testimony or not), or you can email the whole committee without signing in by looking up the House and Senate committee pages.
     Sometimes the tricky part is deciding what bills to act on. Most special interest groups you follow will highlight bills they are interested in. February's newsletter included several links to such groups. Another one you might try is https://granitestateprogress.org/our-work/state-house-hearings-votes/. (thank you Cathy Souter for the suggestion)
     Petitions are another good way to convey your opinion up the ladder. This one is for legislation protecting voting rights in NH: Home | Nhcvr (nhvotingrights.org)
     Are you interested in education funding in NH? Curious about the Commission to Study School Funding’s findings and recommendations to make school funding more equitable for students and taxpayers? Join the discussion in one of three listening sessions March 10, 15 or 25th at 5:30pm via Zoom. Register by clicking the date listed.
     The Windham Independent's Legislative update (page 10 this week) includes the number of bills voted on by each representative and summarizes what happened the previous week in Concord. 
     Letters to the editor, or posts on your Facebook page are a good way to reach others with your opinion. Speak up, get active. As Granny D said, "Democracy is not something we have it is something we DO!".
The Rockingham County Dems Meet Monday March 8th 7pm
Register HERE
The March Windems Meeting is Tues March 16th 6:30pm
Register HERE

The April Windems Meeting is
Tuesday, April 20th
By Kristi St. Laurent

Many people have asked for an update. There is a Senate bill being heard currently in the House, so things are fluid, but here is where we stand at this point:

On November 3 the Windham election results showed the four state representative seats won by republicans, but I was only 24 votes behind the fourth place finisher. I requested a recount. The next week was the recount where the results were startlingly different. The four republicans all gained about 300 votes, while I lost 99. The other three democrats gained a robust but not unusual 18, 22 and 28 votes.

I appealed to the Ballot Law Commission, per RSA (state law). They typically hear cases when a race comes down to just a couple of votes and a candidate disputes the Secretary of States' interpretation of voter intent on a handful of ballots. This case was unusual in that it was not a few votes in question, but the recount results in general. The Commission agreed with the SOS that the election and recount both showed the four republicans to be the winners so they certified those results and those people have been seated by the house of representatives. The Commission also noted the significant discrepancy and asked the Attorney General's office to investigate.

The AG checked the Town's processes and documentation and made a few minor suggestions but did not find fault any where near the degree noted with the recount results. 

The AG and the SOS's office both stated nothing further could be done because state law prohibits more than one recount.

Senator Guida R-Warren submitted a bill (gutting and replacing the language in a bill that was doomed, with the help of Senator Morse) that described the recount and appeal process with the four representatives certified and seated. He clarified, "The election results are therefore final". In other words, concern that any revisiting of the Windham ballots is a second recount prohibited by RSA is moot - the election is decided and final, an investigation using the ballots and machines is ok.

The bill (SB43) passed the Senate unanimously and went to the House. However, the language in the bill was not clear that ALL of the ballots were to be recounted. For example the language could have been satisfied with four sets of 1,000 votes rather than all 10,006 ballots and left us with more questions than answers.

There has been much focus on the machines but I am working with others to be sure all three sources (The town processes and procedures, the machines or the recount) are investigated. On Monday March 1 the Windham Board of Selectmen had a meeting at which a representative of LHS (providers and services of our ballot optical scanning devices. I would recommend viewing that presentation which starts at about 20 minutes: Windham Community Television (viebit.com).  

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Selectboard set up the Windham Election Integrity Committee (WEIC) to draft language to strengthen SB43 for the Selectboard to consider, with the intent for it to be conveyed to our house delegation to be submitted to the house election law committee. I participated on the WEIC on Wednesday March 3rd with Nicole Bottai (Town Clerk), Peter Griffin (Town Moderator), Charlie McMahon (State Representative), Heath Partington and Jennifer Simmons (Selectboard members), Tom Murry and Ken Eyring (involved citizens). This document became SB43 Amendment #0638h. On Thursday March 4th Mr. Eyring went of his own accord to meet with Secretary Gardner and Deputy SOS Scanlon. They came up with a new process that addressed more directly Mr. Eyring's concern for a forensic audit and changed the Election Integrity Committee and the Selectboard's concern for a full hand-count of the state representative race to be any two races EXCEPT for that race. Selectman Partington and I both spoke in opposition to this change and noted that Mr. Eyring had gone without the request or knowledge of either the WEIC or the Selectboard. 

At this point the election law committee hearing is underway, started on Friday the 5th. It is scheduled to continue Monday the 8th with a vote either Monday or likely Wednesday. There are several interested parties drafting amendments, some with the express interest of exhaustively investigating the machines, some that include attention to the recount results and those that address both. 

Once a bill passes out of committee, it will be voted on by the full house, return to the senate and then go to the Governor's desk.

It is my hope that the investigation be thorough enough to clear or implicate both the recount of November 12 as well as the machines, the Town being essentially cleared by the AG investigation. Once the root cause is discovered, changes can be made to prevent such discrepancies in the future. 

It has been noted that 85% of NH towns use the same type of Accuvote machines used in Windham and they need confidence in their machines and elections. However, 100% of our towns have the recourse of a recount in the case of close elections and they need confidence in that process as well. 

I have been pushing back on the attempts to focus primarily on the machines, to keep a definitive investigation of the recount included vs excluded. I was very impressed with the Town election officials who willingly, openly and publicly submitted for a full document and process review as well as interviews. Windham can be very proud of our election officials! Likewise, LHS has been very cooperative in order to help find the root cause. A similar willingness by the Secretary of State would be welcome.

This has been a long ordeal, and will last a good while longer. Thank you to all of you who have offered encouragement and support. I will keep you updated.
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