CONTACT:
For Q1: Gilles Bissonnette, Legal Director, [email protected]; 603-227-6678
For Q2: Jeanne Hruska, Policy Director, [email protected]; 603-226-3149; 307-272-8727
CONCORD, NH – On November 6, Granite Staters voted by more than the necessary two-thirds to successfully pass ballot measures one and two. Ballot measure one adds taxpayer standing to the NH constitution, and ballot measure two adds an explicit constitutional right to privacy for personal information. The ACLU-NH supported both in the NH Legislature and advocated for both in the lead up to the election.
Reaction by Gilles Bissonnette, ACLU-NH Legal Director, on the passage of Q1: We thank all the legislators and voters who joined to overwhelmingly pass ballot question 1. Government accountability goes to the heart of our democracy, and taxpayer standing is a key mechanism for citizens to challenge unconstitutional government action in courts. The ACLU-NH disagreed with the NH Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate statutory taxpayer standing in 2014, and today, applauds Granite Staters for strengthening this key accountability mechanism by adding it to our state constitution.
Reaction by Jeanne Hruska, ACLU-NH Policy Director, on the passage of Q2: On a partisan day, Granite Staters came together to add an explicit right to privacy to our state constitution. Our state’s founders could not have fathomed DNA harvesting, facial recognition, or iris scans. In this daunting era of increasingly invasive technology, we need our right to privacy for personal information to be just as robust as our tech. New Hampshire has demonstrated again why it is a national leader on privacy.