I am respectfully requesting that you oppose bill HB1257, for the following reasons: - It creates arbitrary and unnecessary barriers to citizen participation. New Hampshire’s citizen legislature depends on accessibility; a two-year district residency requirement discourages working families, renters, military members, and others with legitimate mobility from serving. - It unnecessarily restricts voter choice. This bill limits who may run for office, reducing the pool of qualified candidates and denying voters the right to decide for themselves who best represents their interests. - It is a solution in search of a problem. Current constitutional and statutory requirements already ensure candidates have meaningful ties to the state and district, and there is no demonstrated public harm that justifies imposing additional restrictions.
HB1257
House · 2026 sessionDemocraticKilled in HouseTwo-year residency for candidates
AIRequires candidates for state representative and state senator to have lived in the district they seek to represent for at least 2 years.
requiring that candidates for state representative and state senator live in the district for which they seek election for at least 2 years.
Status
Killed in the House — Inexpedient to Legislate · March 5, 2026- ✓Introduced
- ✕House
- Senate
- Governor
- Law
Division of testimony
14 submissionsThose elected should ABSOLUTELY live in the location of which they are being elected to serve. Requiring prior residence is logical and is what is best for the people. They need to know people that they represent, not have just met them. Great bill- thank you for writing and passing it!
Living in the district before running is good enough, but a 2 year requirement takes away a citizen's right to run for office.
My name is Karen and I live and vote in Bristol. I SUPPORT this bill that would require the Secretary of the State to alert the public about constitutional amendments.
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