Question 1: Eliminate the Office of Register of Probate (CACR 13)
Statewide — all of New Hampshire
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Placed on the ballot by the Legislature as Constitutional Amendment Concurrent Resolution 13 (CACR 13). The printed ballot lists the legislative votes: passed by the N.H. House 325 Yes to 15 No and by the Senate 23 Yes to 1 No.[3][1]
- The General Court's bill status page records the House vote as 325-15 (Feb. 5, 2026, by the necessary three-fifths vote) and the Senate vote as 23-1 (March 26, 2026). Ballotpedia News reports ratification requires a two-thirds vote at the general election.[4][5]
The question on the ballot
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.[3][1]
The amendment would remove the office of register of probate from the New Hampshire Constitution by amending Part II, Articles 71 and 81. As printed on the ballot, the amended Article 71 lists county treasurers, county attorneys, sheriffs and registers of deeds as the elected county officers, and the amended Article 81 provides that no judge shall be of counsel, act as advocate, or receive fees as advocate or counsel in any probate business pending in the court of probate in the county of which he or she is judge. No fiscal note was found in the sources reviewed.[1]
A YES vote means
A yes vote would amend the state constitution to eliminate the elected office of register of probate.
A NO vote means
A no vote would leave the office of register of probate in the state constitution.
The law today
The office of register of probate is, per a supporter's column, an elected position enshrined in the state constitution. According to Ballotpedia News, most of its duties were eliminated in a 2011 court reorganization and its main remaining responsibility is preserving files with possible historical significance. A similar amendment in 2022 received 62.9% of the vote but did not reach the two-thirds (66.67%) needed to amend the constitution.[2][5]
Arguments made for
- Donna Sytek, a former Speaker of the N.H. House and former Rockingham County register of probate, wrote in NHJournal.com: "All that remains of the register of probate is the title, which is enshrined in the state constitution as an elected position along with other county officials. The register has no office, no phone, no desk, no computer, and no real duties, but does have a stipend of $100 a year."[2]
- Sytek's column concluded: "Please vote yes on Question 1 to eliminate this do-nothing job."[2]
Arguments made against
- None found in public sources.
On record in support
- Dennis Mannion, prime sponsor of CACR 13, with six co-sponsors (Rombeau, Ankarberg, Tenczar, Kuttab, Donnelly, Rosenwald), per the General Court bill status page.[4]
- Donna Sytek, former Speaker of the N.H. House and former Rockingham County register of probate, in an opinion column urging a yes vote.[2]
On record in opposition
- None found in public sources.
Research notes & limits
The NH Secretary of State's site returns 403 to automated requests, so the ballot wording was confirmed against the Town of Bristol's posted official sample ballot for the Nov. 3, 2026 State General Election (listed under 'Questions relating to constitutional amendments proposed by the 2026 General Court' as item 1, with the House and Senate vote counts), and it matches the New Hampshire Bulletin's reproduction word for word. A third-party bill tracker listed CACR 13 as dead, which conflicts with its place on the printed ballot. The summary describes only what the ballot text shows; no fiscal note was found. No campaign committee or published opposition argument was found, so there is no argument against; the only quoted argument is a signed opinion column by a supporter. A separate school property tax cap (HB 1300) appears only in municipalities that adopted it locally and is not statewide. No fiscal note and no named opponents were found; the 15 House and 1 Senate no votes are not accompanied by published statements in the sources reviewed.
Sources · 5
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.Ballot Question 1 (New Hampshire Bulletin Voter Guide: 2026 General Election), reproducing the ballot question text and legislative votes · New Hampshire Bulletin News report
- 2.Eliminate the Obsolete Position of Register of Probate (opinion column by Donna Sytek) · NHJournal.com · 2026-10-12 News report
- 3.Sample Ballot, November 3, 2026 State General Election (Bristol, NH) · Town of Bristol, NH · 2026-11-03 Official record
- 4.CACR13 bill status: relating to registers of probate · New Hampshire General Court · 2026-03-26 Official record
- 5.New Hampshire voters to decide amendment to eliminate register of probate references from state constitution · Ballotpedia News · 2026-03-31 News report