Voter Clarifies Intent of Amendment Question on Ballot

By Ken Wells

Under current law, New Hampshire Supreme Court justices serve until their 70th birthday:


Chief Justice Gordon J. MacDonald (b.1961, term ends 2031)
Senior Associate Justice James P. Bassett (b.1956, term ends 2026)
Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi (b. 1956, term ends 2026)
Justice Patrick E. Donovan (b. 1964, term ends 2034)
Justice Melissa B. Countway (b.1961, term ends 2031)

A 2024 Constitutional Amendment Question on the November ballot asks voters to weigh in on the amendment proposed by the 2023 General Court:

“Are you in favor of amending article 78 of the second part of the constitution to read as follows: No person shall hold the office of sheriff of any county, after the person has attained the age of seventy years. No person shall hold the office of judge of any court after the person has attained the age of seventy-five years.” (Passed by the House 321 Yes, 27 No; Passed by the Senate 22 Yes, 1 No.)

It’s not my intent to tell any voter whether they should vote yes or no on this question, but it’s important for voters to understand the implications of the question. Currently, both sheriffs and judges in New Hampshire face a mandatory retirement at 70 years old. The intent of this proposal is to raise the retirement age of judges to 75 years, which would postpone the responsibility for nominating and voting in new judges to a new Governor and Executive Council to be elected in 2030, not those running in the current election cycle.

The current Executive Council, which votes to approve the Governor’s judicial appointments, consists today of four Republicans and one Democrat, and the gerrymander is unlikely to alter that composition before the 2030 census. The current Chief Justice was formerly a Rubio delegate to the Electoral College, but the others might be described as nonpartisan conservatives.