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Judge dismisses electioneering lawsuit filed by two GOP candidates against N.H. public library – The Boston Globe

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Judge dismisses electioneering lawsuit filed by two GOP candidates against N.H. public library – The Boston Globe


In their lawsuit, Berry and Murphy objected to questions about abortion rights, public school funding, and LGBTQ+ issues, while also claiming the questionnaire would be illegal regardless of the topics addressed. They accused the library of violating the state law that prohibits public employees from using government resources for electioneering.

But only the New Hampshire Attorney’s General’s Office has authority to enforce state election laws, and nothing in the anti-electioneering statute even implies private parties have any legal right to file civil litigation of their own, according to Tuesday’s ruling from Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Michael A. Klass.

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As a result, Klass concluded Berry and Murphy were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their case. He denied their request for a temporary restraining order and dismissed their lawsuit altogether.

Berry said he was “deeply disappointed that the judge sidestepped the core issue” in this case.

“While I respect the court’s decision, I fundamentally disagree with the notion that citizens cannot seek relief through the courts when public employees violate election laws,” he said.

Dianne Hathaway, director of the Goffstown Public Library, said her team appreciates the court’s expedited decision and remains confident library staff didn’t violate the law. Work on the questionnaire is “proceeding on schedule,” and library trustees will make the final decision on whether to publish the responses as planned, she said.

“Our goal is to post information by early next week,” she added.

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A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Justice told The Boston Globe the DOJ’s Election Law Unit was still working on its response to a formal complaint regarding this dispute.

Murphy said Tuesday he hopes the attorney general will “do his job” and find that Goffstown Public Library violated the law.

The second floor of the Goffstown Public Library in Goffstown, N.H.Steven Porter/Globe Staff

In a preliminary assessment of the situation, Brendan A. O’Donnell, chief of the DOJ’s Election Law Unit, wrote in a Sept. 27 email that the library sent the questionnaire to all candidates on the ballot in local races for New Hampshire House and Senate and offered to publish their answers unedited.

“If a candidate disagrees with the premise or wording of a particular question, there is no reason the candidate could not use part of their answer to explain why they disagree with the premise of the question,” he wrote.

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O’Donnell concluded municipal entities aren’t blanketly prohibited from engaging in candidate forums and questionnaires, though the law does impose limits on how employees may use government resources to talk about election-related issues.

Generally speaking, the type of electioneering that is off-limits for public employees using government resources is that which “expressly advocates for the success or defeat of a candidate or measure being voted at an election,” O’Donnell said via the DOJ spokesperson.

That initial assessment didn’t stop Berry and Murphy from filing their lawsuit without hiring an attorney to represent them.

In an interview after a court hearing Friday, Berry said the idea that a government entity would assemble this questionnaire is so wrong that he “shouldn’t need an attorney to fight it.”

“If this is allowed to happen and the questions are allowed to be biased, you can imagine what 2026 is going to look like or what the municipal elections are going to look like,” he said.

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A teen-oriented section on the second floor of the Goffstown Public Library in Goffstown, N.H., prompts visitors to vote on whether zombies or vampires would win in a head-to-head showdown.Steven Porter/Globe Staff

The anti-electioneering law says it’s a misdemeanor for any public employee to use government property or equipment “to act in any way specifically designed to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office.”

Berry argued that means a public library cannot collect and publish even basic biographical facts about candidates, such as their ages, without running afoul of the law.

“There is no information they can present that won’t in some way ‘influence the vote of a voter,’” he said during Friday’s hearing.

Steven M. Whitley, an attorney for the library, contended that his client seeks to help voters understand candidates’ positions on certain timely topics, not tell them which candidates to support or oppose.

“The library’s position is that the intent is to educate the public. That is the intent of the questions,” he said. “That is why they contain some topics that are politically charged.”

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Of the 14 candidates who were invited to complete the library’s questionnaire, Hathaway said Tuesday the library had received responses from five Democrats and zero Republicans.

“However, since the published answers will be in a digital format, late responses can be added if candidates change their minds,” she added.

Two of the Democrats who responded to the questionnaire, F. Eric Emmerling and Marie B. Morgan, are running in Hillsborough County’s House District 44 against Berry and fellow Republican nominee Lisa Mazur. The district has two seats.

The other three Democrats who responded — Jim Craig, Judith Gaynor Johnson, and Melanie Renfrew-Hebert — are running with fellow Democrat Judi Lanza in Hillsborough County’s House District 29 against Republican nominees Joe Alexander Jr., Sheila Seidel, Henry R. Giasson III, and Sherri Reinfurt.

Michael York, the Democratic nominee challenging Murphy for his Senate District 16 seat, didn’t respond to the library’s questionnaire and has not responded to the Globe’s inquiries regarding this lawsuit.

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Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.





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Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

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Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening


Video: Showers to start Friday before a mild evening

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Now Chief meteorologist Mike Haddad with your storm watch 9 forecast. Oh, the temperatures on the chilly side and then some cold enough for *** touch of wet snow in the last, say, 2 or 3 hours even here in downtown Manchester. But right now *** lot of that has lifted away. The clouds linger, more showers building in from the west, bumping in this cold air. Only 35 at this hour. Normal high 52, so we are nowhere near the normal. For this time of year in early April and even farther north, not *** whole lot warmer despite being away from the ocean influence of that wind coming in off of the chilly Atlantic right now, 30 to 40, not gonna fall off all that much as the night wears on. Band of showers number 1 approaching right now, filling into the Meannock region, places like Keene and Hinsdale and all the way up to about say Charlestown and southern parts of Solomon County near the Upper Valley getting in on. Some light rain or some light mixing, but it’s *** narrow band. It’s not gonna last more than, say, *** couple of hours, and it’ll be gone by about 10 o’clock this evening. And in the wake of that, still lingering clouds, sprinkles of rain, or even *** touch of light icing, and then more filling in by early tomorrow morning, especially to the north. Speaking of the north, winter weather advisories, if we needed any more of that right, central and northern locales of the lake. Region, the White Mountains and points north, 8 p.m. tonight to about 9 or 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. So here’s our timeline of all of that. As I mentioned, the showers building in *** quick hitter in the next 3 or 4 hours, gone by about 9 or 10 o’clock with the clouds lingering, and we’re right near freezing, especially western, central and northern New Hampshire. So there, anything untreated could glaze over. So watch out for that if you’re traveling overnight tonight after *** dry. Overnight period by about 4 or 5 a.m. through the morning drive tomorrow, more showers in the form of rain, but again right near freezing, so *** touch of light icing, especially the farther north you go. But then by the afternoon, totally different story. The winds turn around out of the southwest, the clouds break apart, and here comes that early spring warmth just in time for the Red Sox home opener tomorrow afternoon and the Fisher Cats opener. Right here in the Queen City in the early evening. So again, the highs tomorrow, much better than we are out there right now. So again for the Sox home opener tomorrow, we’re drying out by midday and early afternoon later on in the innings, hopefully with the Red Sox ahead. Peaks of sun and the temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. Next round of showers, unfortunately Easter Sunday. Tough to call the exact timeline, but it looks like *** late morning and afternoon event, dry and cool Monday through Wednesday.

Cold, raw, and damp through early Friday. Pockets of an icy mix are possible over higher elevations north and west Thursday night. By Friday afternoon the skies will try to clear as milder air moves in. Some sun on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, but now it looks wet on Easter Sunday, with morning showers then a steadier rain in the afternoon and evening. Even cooler feel early next week.A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

Cold, raw, and damp through early Friday. Pockets of an icy mix are possible over higher elevations north and west Thursday night. By Friday afternoon the skies will try to clear as milder air moves in. Some sun on Saturday with highs in the upper 50s, but now it looks wet on Easter Sunday, with morning showers then a steadier rain in the afternoon and evening. Even cooler feel early next week.

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A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Coos, Carroll and Grafton counties in New Hampshire from 8:00 p.m. Thursday evening until 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. This is due to the risk of light icy mix, which could slow travel.

Once morning showers clear away on Friday, it’s back to milder weather with many areas seeing temperatures rebound into the 50s and 60s with some sun. The weekend could also feature the chance of showers each day, but Saturday looks like the drier of the two weekend days. Temperatures will likely land in the upper 50s to near 60. A steadier batch of rain is then possible on Sunday with some cooler temperatures again early next week.

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As hoops betting spikes, it’s New Hampshire and other states vs. prediction markets

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As hoops betting spikes, it’s New Hampshire and other states vs. prediction markets


The state of New Hampshire receives revenue from sports wagers made with DraftKings, but officials are worried that people will switch to new prediction market platforms.

Zoey Knox/NHPR


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Zoey Knox/NHPR

Two things have New Hampshire state Sen. Tim Lang feeling blue.

“I do have a bracket. It broke pretty hard,” says Lang, a Republican, on the sorry state of his NCAA men’s basketball tournament predictions.

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He says he’s also concerned about the outlook for state revenues. New Hampshire legalized sports wagering in 2019, the year after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize and regulate sports gambling. Since then, the state has raked in more than $170 million through a partnership with the wagering company DraftKings. Big money in a small state.

The rise of Kalshi and Polymarket — major players in the fast-growing world of prediction markets — could put a dent in those revenues, Lang fears. He says he plans to introduce legislation as early as this week that would clear the way for New Hampshire to join states around the U.S. in suing the prediction market companies.

“We have a revenue model for our sports betting that allows us to pay for education and other state services that Kalshi is completely going around by avoiding our gaming laws,” he says. “They should not be able to skirt our state laws.”

States are suing to regulate prediction markets 

Prediction companies let customers buy “yes” or “no” futures contracts on the outcomes of world events, elections and, crucially for states, sports. Because the companies contend they’re operating as a financial market and not a sportsbook, the states don’t get a cut of the proceeds.

States including Connecticut, Michigan and Washington are in court battles with the prediction market companies. Arizona went so far as to charge Kalshi in criminal court for offering illegal sports wagers.

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Kalsi and Polymarket didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story. In legal filings, Kalshi has argued that it’s already regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission and that having to operate in 50 different ways to appease 50 different states isn’t possible. The Trump administration, so far, backs that view.

Courts so far have handed down mixed rulings, leaving a messy situation on the ground, especially about what’s considered sports gambling.

The law is unsettled so far

“Is sports betting and prediction market synonymous, or are they sufficiently distinct that there should be different treatment under the law? I mean, that’s an open-ended question,” says Michael McCann, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Sports and Entertainment Law Institute.

Even with the prospect of lost state revenues, not everyone in New Hampshire is eager to clamp down on prediction markets. John Stephen, an elected Republican member of the council that oversees state contracts, likes the competition that prediction markets bring.

“Companies that are trying to make money, and this entrepreneurial spirit that we have in this country, I value that,” he says.

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Todd Bookman is a general assignment reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio.



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‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor Eugene Mirman rescued from fiery crash by New Hampshire governor’s detail

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‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor Eugene Mirman rescued from fiery crash by New Hampshire governor’s detail


BEDFORD, N.H. (AP) — “Bob’s Burgers” voice actor and comedian Eugene Mirman suffered serious injuries after crashing his car into a toll plaza and being pulled from the fiery wreckage by a state trooper assigned to protect the governor of New Hampshire.

The crash happened just before noon Tuesday when a northbound electric vehicle struck the Bedford Toll Plaza and caught fire, New Hampshire State Police said. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte and her security detail came upon the crash soon after, and a trooper and two others pulled Mirman from the burning car through a window, said State Police Col. Mark Hall. The governor, who left her vehicle and retrieved a fire extinguisher, was not in any danger, he said.

“Eugene was in a very scary car accident,” Mirman’s agent Jay Glassner confirmed in a statement Wednesday. “He wants to thank the bystanders, state police, first responders and hospital staff who saved him. He is grateful to be on the mend. At this time, we kindly ask for privacy for Eugene and his family as he focuses on recovering from his injuries.”

Hall called the actions of the rescuers “heroic.”

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“Without hesitation, they put themselves in danger to render aid to someone who was in need of it,” Hall said.

State police identified the driver as Yevgeny Mirman, 51, of Massachusetts. Mirman, who was born in Moscow and grew up in Massachusetts, is known for voicing musical middle child Gene Belcher in more than 300 episodes of the animated comedy “Bob’s Burgers” and its movie, in addition to roles on “Flight of the Conchords,” “Delocated” and “Archer.”

Ayotte said she and her husband were praying for the driver’s recovery.

“I want to thank the Trooper on my security detail and the bystanders who stepped up to help at the scene of the crash for their brave lifesaving efforts,” she said in a statement.

The crash remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.

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