On Tuesday March 3, 2009 at the Church Landing in Meredith from 7:00 – 8:30 PM the citizens of Meredith and Moultonborough will have a chance to attend a public forum at which the pros and cons of SB2, ballot voting, will be discussed. It is being put on by the Greater Meredith Program Board of Directors.
Meredith and Moultonborough and Bow are among towns that will be voting whether to adopt SB2 at town meeting this year.
CNHT supports SB2 for these reasons:
1 – It is not possible to accommodate every voter at a traditional town meeting.
2 – Your vote at a traditional town meeting is not private and some feel intimidated.
3 – You still have a chance to discuss the issues at the deliberative session that precedes the actual vote.
4 – You can also vote by absentee ballot.
Myths you will hear:
“SB2 takes away our rights to discuss issues before the town as a whole and blocks the ability of citizens to know what they are voting for. SB2 will only create confusion and promote the ability of small, special interests to allow ideas to be present in ballot form without the ability to question the public body as a whole before the vote.”
This assertion is patently FALSE! In fact, just the opposite is true. About 30 days before the vote, you can attend the deliberative session to discuss and amend articles. Unless you are the type who can tolerate the possible bias of the moderator when counting hand or voice votes, SB2 voting is by far the FAIREST and best way to vote in a time when ordinary meetings places could not possibly accommodate the presence of every voter. There is plenty of time to find out information about each article for 30 days prior. The argument about special interests is even more valid for town meeting, while that argument used against SB2 is false.
Those who do not support SB2 are usually town and school employees who like to stack the deck at town meetings in order to vote in spending increases for their own special interests. They know that many people do not show up because they feel intimidated.
We recommend that if you live in a town that is offering SB2 this year, get out to your town election and VOTE YES FOR SB2.
Note: Please see Moultonborough SB2 Informational – March 2 post for information on March 2 session that will be pro-SB2