At our regional cooperative school district budget meetings, a group has been repeatedly requesting secret ballots on amendments as a delay tactic. The counting process runs out the clock and forces voters with time commitments to leave before the vote. I started looking into whether secret ballots are even legally required here, and I don’t think they are.
RSA 40:4-a is the only NH statute giving voters the right to demand a secret ballot, but it only applies to town meetings. It does not extend to school district meetings. RSA 197, which actually governs school district meetings, contains zero voting procedure rules. RSA 195, covering cooperative school districts specifically, is equally silent. RSA 197:19 gives the school district moderator town-moderator-equivalent powers, but that is the moderator’s authority, not a voter right to demand secret ballots.
My conclusion is that secret ballots at these meetings are moderator discretion and local custom, not a statutory requirement. If correct, the meeting body could vote to change the procedure themselves.
Am I missing a statute that creates this right specifically for school district deliberative sessions?
Not a lawyer. This is really the first time I have tried to read statutes.