New Hampshire ballot measure · November 3, 2026
New Hampshire Question 1, explained
Eliminate the office of register of probate. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
Are you in favor of eliminating the office of register of probate by amending articles 71 and 81 of the second part of the constitution to read as follows: [Art.] 71. [County Treasurers, County Attorneys, Sheriffs, and Registers of Deeds Elected.] The county treasurers, county attorneys, sheriffs and registers of deeds, shall be elected by the inhabitants of the several towns, in the several counties in the State, according to the method now practiced, and the laws of the state, provided nevertheless the legislature shall have authority to alter the manner of certifying the votes, and the mode of electing those officers; but not so as to deprive the people of the right they now have of electing them. [Art.] 81. [Judges Not to Act as Counsel.] No judge shall be of counsel, act as advocate, or receive any fees as advocate or counsel, in any probate business which is pending, or may be brought into any court of probate in the county of which he or she is judge.
What it actually means
Every New Hampshire county elects a register of probate, an office the constitution has required since 1784. It used to handle wills and estate paperwork, but the 2011 reorganisation of the court system moved that work to the judicial branch, leaving the elected register with one remaining duty: preserving files of potential historical significance. This amendment would delete the office from Articles 71 and 81 of Part II. Voters were asked the same thing in 2022 and 62.9% said yes — a majority, but under the two-thirds New Hampshire requires, so it failed.
If you vote YES
- Article 71 would no longer list registers of probate among the county officers elected by the inhabitants of each county, leaving county treasurers, county attorneys, sheriffs and registers of deeds.
- Article 81 would no longer mention registers of probate in its bar on acting as counsel in probate business, applying only to judges.
- The elected office of register of probate would cease to exist in each of New Hampshire's ten counties.
- The remaining function of the office — preserving probate files of potential historical significance — would fall to be handled elsewhere in the county or court system.
- The amendment needs two-thirds of those voting on it; anything less leaves the office in place.
If you vote NO
- Articles 71 and 81 keep their references to registers of probate, and each county continues to elect one.
- The office keeps the duty it has had since 2011 — preserving probate files with potential historical significance — while the substantive probate work stays with the circuit court's probate division.
- Counties continue to run and fund the election for the office and pay its holder.
- This would be the second failure of the same question, after 2022, and the office would remain until a future Legislature refers it again.
The numbers that matter
- Votes needed to pass
- Two-thirds of those voting on the question
- Result when voters last decided this
- 62.9% yes, 37.1% no — defeated
- What the office does now
- Preserves probate files of potential historical significance
- New Hampshire statewide measures, 1985–2024
- 24 put to voters; 7 approved, 17 defeated
New Hampshire Constitution, Part II, Article 100
New Hampshire Question 1, November 8, 2022
Following the 2011 reorganisation of the New Hampshire court system
Ballotpedia's list of New Hampshire ballot measures
What each side says0 for, 0 against — quoted, not summarised
Why supporters say YES
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
Why opponents say NO
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
What's genuinely uncertain
- No argument is shown here for either side. No campaign has registered or been located for or against the amendment, and the case made in the Legislature was not published in a form we could quote. Rather than print one side with nothing opposite it, this page shows neither. The referring resolution drew support from members of both parties and an independent.
- The amendment does not say who would take over the historical file preservation the office now performs, or what would happen to registers currently in office.
- No fiscal note or estimate of savings to the counties was located.
- The two-thirds threshold, not public opinion, has been the obstacle: in 2022 a clear majority voted yes and the measure still failed. Whether that repeats cannot be known.
The bottom line
Whether to remove from the constitution an elected county office whose work the courts absorbed in 2011 — a tidier constitution and one fewer election to run, against abolishing an office voters still fill and whose remaining record-keeping duty would have to go somewhere.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here
Checking it against the official text
The New Hampshire Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at New Hampshire Secretary of State.