DOVER — An effort to overturn a bill passed last year to change the way citizens vote for Strafford County commissioners received a public hearing before a New Hampshire House committee last week.

House Bill 1210 would repeal House Bill 75, which passed by one vote, 186-185, in the House and the Senate 14-10, along party lines. The election for the county’s three commissioners has long been countywide, meaning the top three vote getters were elected. The new bill breaks the towns and cities of Strafford County into three districts, with each voting for a commissioner. It’s set to take effect for the 2024 election in November.

The change means County Commission Chairman George Maglaras of Dover, who has served on the commission since 1983, would have to run against Commissioner Deanna Rollo in a Democratic primary, if both seek reelection this year. Democrats have long controlled the commission, which holds elections every two years, with a Republican last serving in 2011-12.

One of the proponents of House Bill 75, state Sen. Jim Gray, R-Rochester, in 2023 argued districts should be created to give smaller towns in Strafford County more representation. He also pointed out nine of 10 county commissioner elections in the state have districts. Strafford County is the only one that does not.

“That is taking away the people’s right to vote for all three commissioners,” Maglaras countered. “With that vote the new law lets people in the county only vote for one and divides the two major cities in half, disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters.”

Constitutional argument for and against districts in Strafford Counlty

Democrats who opposed the bill to change the election called it gerrymandering. Another argument Democrats made was redistricting of voting maps happens nationally every 10 years, following the once-a-decade Census. Gray helped lead that process in New Hampshire with Republicans in majority control. Numerous election districts were changed in the state, but no changes were made to the Strafford County commissioner election at that time.

Maglaras and other Democrats said state lawmakers need to wait for the next 10-year cycle and argued making changes would be unconstitutional. They said it would set a precedent the party in majority control could make changes at any time.

Gray defended the constitutionality of House Bill 75. In 2023, when House Bill 75 was being debated, he said an attorney told him “districting is different than redistricting,” meaning this change isn’t part of the redistricting because there are no districts for Strafford County commissioners. Gray said another attorney advised him since no action was taken on Strafford County commissioners during the redistricting process, “we still have our once-in-10-years opportunity.”

In addition to the constitutionality of the bill, Maglaras pointed out that one of the House votes that passed the bill was cast by former representative Troy Merner, ousted from the legislature after it was shown he was still voting even though he no longer lived in Lancaster, the town he represented.

“He was charged with fraud and casting votes illegally,” said Maglaras. “That will certainly be one of the pleadings in support of the new bill.”

House Bill 1210 was heard by the House’s Municipal and County Government committee, which is scheduled to vote on it by March 21. The bill will then go to the full House with the committee’s recommendation. It is sponsored by Democratic state Reps. Tim Horrigan, Cam Kenney, and Allan Howland, all of Durham, as well as Chuck Grassie of Rochester and Heath Howard of Strafford.

Maglaras said HB 1210 is the last attempt to repeal what he says is an unfair law. It if fails, he reiterated his stand the county will take its argument to court.

“The courts prefer you make all efforts to work through the legislature so that’s what we are doing,” he said. “But we firmly believe this is wrong and we will take it as far as we have to.”