In some area towns, including Peterborough, voters will see candidates listed under the headings of more than one political party on the Nov. 8 ballot.
This is allowed under New Hampshire law and is not a ballot mistake, said N.H. Secretary of State David Scanlan.
In Hillsborough County, incumbent Sheriff Christopher Connelly is listed in both the Republican and Democratic columns, while Nicholas Sarwark, a candidate for county attorney, and Richard Manzo, who is running for county treasurer, are labeled both as Democrats and Libertarians.
In addition to Peterborough, the candidates are listed on multiple lines in Antrim, Bennington, Francestown, Greenfield, Greenville, Hancock, Lyndeborough, Mason, New Ipswich, Sharon, Temple and Wilton.
“We’ve been getting a lot of questions about that this year,” Scanlan said. “A law that has been in effect for some time allows for cross-endorsements of party nominations.”
For example, Sarwark and Manzo are Libertarians, but they solicited write-in votes from Democrats. No Democrat filed for either race.
The pair ended up being the top vote-getters for the two positions in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary. This entitles them to appear under the Democratic column on the general election ballot as well as under the “other candidates” column, where they are labeled as Libertarians. People can cast only one vote for each of these offices.
Two Republicans are also in these races — incumbent County Attorney John Coughlin and incumbent Treasurer David Fredette.
Meanwhile, Connelly, a Republican, also appears on the Democratic side of the ballot. No Republican filed to oppose him in the primary and he received more than 30,000 GOP votes. He was also the top vote-getter on the Democratic side, receiving 76 write-in votes.
Sarwark, chairman of the Libertarian National Committee from 2014 to 2020, said he has considered himself a Libertarian since he was 12.
“I’m not sure elected prosecutors should be a partisan office in the first place,” he said Friday. “I don’t think there is a Republican, or Democratic or Libertarian way to seek justice for victims of crime. In order to be able to serve the citizens of Hillsborough County, winning the election is the first step, and winning the election is made easier when you have the nomination of multiple parties.”
Rick Green can be reached at rgreen@keenesentinel.com or 603-355-8567.
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