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Process Available
Constitutional and Statutory Provisions
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New Hampshire does not allow state level initiatives or referendums. An attempt to adopt I&R at the state's 1902 constitutional convention was defeated with a vote of 250 against and 40 in favor. George H. Duncan of East Joffrey, secretary of the New Hampshire Direct Legislation League in 1912, led an effort to pass I&R at the next state constitutional convention, but lost again by a vote of 166 to 156. Duncan attributed the defeat to the fact that "officials of the Concord and Montreal Railroad, a subsidiary of the Boston and Maine [Railroad], were using railroad money to defeat us." A 1999 survey by Rasmussen Research found that 57 percent of New Hampshire residents thought having the initiative available was "a good idea," compared to 20 percent who did not think it was a good idea, and 23 percent who were not sure. [Link to survey] |
