Jun. 22—WINDHAM — The most recent municipal election day was a snowy one, so much so that some residents are calling for traditional March elections to be pushed to a later date.
Fast-rising snow totals resulted in lower-than-usual turnouts March 14, meaning fewer people weighed in on the town and school budgets, as well as races for town offices.
Across the Granite State, various communities pulled the plug on their elections, postponing them by two weeks as allowed by state rules.
Now there is discussion in Windham surrounding the idea of moving local elections into April or May permanently.
At a recent Board of Selectmen meeting, residents spoke out about what such a change might mean for the school district and town.
Among them were School Board member Shannon Ulery, who told selectmen she and fellow board members have begun seeking legal advice on the topic.
Ulery said there would be challenges.
"A May election would have an adverse impact on the (school) district's ability to attract and recruit staff for the district," she said.
Impacts would also be felt with budgeting timelines, and teacher and staff contract decisions.
Ulery said like many districts, Windham is challenged to find the best teachers in the current hiring climate. Moving elections could take a lot of top talent out of the running, she said.
Keeping the election in March would offer the school district the best time-frame for staff recruitment, budgeting and planning for capital projects, Ulery said.
State rule updates now allow communities to be more flexible with election day postponements.
"There are (other) opportunities to avoid inclement weather," Ulery said. "If the town chooses to move to May it would handicap the school district in a number of ways."
The March 14 snow fell came fast and furiously, with communities watching the forecast days in advance. Many communities moved forward with election day plans. Many did not.
"We've had a couple of these events in recent years," selectmen Chairman Ross McLeod said, noting that in 2017 the town/school election was postponed to the following Saturday.
In Windham, the March 14 election tallies, including absentee ballots, totaled 1,251 votes cast out of 10,300 registered voters.
Although local elections tend to draw lower voter numbers even on great weather days, more could be done to increase them, board members agreed. That could include more communication about absentee ballots and other options to get more people to the polls.
But Town Moderator Peter Griffin said local elections aren't bringing out voters like they used to.