Ouch! NH taken to task

Not everybody loves New Hampshire. Kent Bush writing in lakenewsonline.com (2/8/14), which originates in Camdenton, Missouri, was downright snarky about the Granite State. What was the cause of his ire? A bill proposed in the New Hampshire House by State Rep. Charles Weed would add "none of the above" to each of the contests on the election ballot.

So, for example, if Arnie Apple was pitted against Billy Banana in an election, voters wouldn't have to choose either Apple or Banana. They could register their disgust at the available choices by selecting none of the above. Rep. Weed argues "Real choice means people have to be able to withhold their consent. You can't do that with silly write-ins (like Mickey Mouse). Mickey Mouse is not as good as "none of the above." (Lynne Tuohy, AP, 2/1/14).

Well, adding none of the above to the ballot doesn't seem so earth-shattering. We are, after all, the land of live free or die and the addition simply extends our freedom to choose. What got Kent Bush so steamed?

He claims that the none of the above option encourages passivity among voters. Yikes! The rugged individualists of New Hampshire are being accused of being sluggish nannies. Say it ain't so. But Bush says it is so. "Apparently, you just aren't living free enough if you have only one candidate for an election and you are forced to vote for that person or not vote at all. And why should voters have to choose between the two, three or 15 candidates that file their candidacy for office."

Bush continues. "Sure you could live free or die and actually file to run yourself if you don't like the other guy, but instead of encouraging more participation, they encourage voters to vote passive aggressively in the ballot box." That is, to sulk and refuse to choose anyone.

Bush isn't done with us yet. "And what happens if voters live free rather than dying and overwhelmingly choose none of the above. They have a special election. Is the theory that better candidates will come out of the woodwork if a candidate is shamed by losing to none of the above? This is foolish."

And Bush hasn't even hit us with his best punch yet. None of the above makes no sense as a ballot option because candidate names aren't arranged vertically these days. They are placed horizontally, one next to another.

Our Secretary of State Bill Gardner feels that the "none of the above" bill stands little chance of passing."It would be one heck of an experiment to have to start educating voters that when 'none of the above' appears, it would not be the 'above' but the candidates to the right of left." (Tuohy, 2/1/14).

So, we can breathe a sigh of relief. If this legislation was scorned by a man in a little town in Missouri, can you imagine the ridicule we would experience if the whole nation started focusing on it? We might have to change the state motto to "Live free, then die of humiliation."

If you would like to read more about the rugged individualists, eccentrics, tightwads, and (according to Kent Bush) nannies who live in New Hampshire, may I suggest my new book Outtastatahs: Newcomers' Adventures in New  Hampshire.

Outtastatahs (as in out-of-staters) can be purchased for $13.99 at River Run Books in Portsmouth; at The Water Street Bookstore in Exeter; at Gibson's Bookstore in Concord; or on-line at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.