Former NH lawmaker charged with voting in town election where he didn’t live

A former Republican New Hampshire lawmaker has been charged with voting in last year’s Lancaster election when he didn’t legally reside in the town.

Troy E. Merner, 63, of Carroll, a former state representative, is charged with one felony count of wrongful voting, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office. The complaint alleges that he “knowingly voted for an officer or measure” at the March 8, 2023, Lancaster town election and that he was not qualified to vote in Lancaster. because he didn’t live there.

He has also been charged with theft by deception, as the attorney general’s office said he represented on mileage cards submitted to the state while in the state Legislature that he lived in Lancaster when he actually lived in Carroll, which allowed him to receive greater travel reimbursements from the state than he was entitled to. They said the additional reimbursement was less than $1,000.

He was also charged with unsworn falsification and tampering with public records or information for falsely reporting his address on a mileage card.

Lancaster is located north of the White Mountains, about 100 miles from the State House in Concord, while Carroll is located about 15 miles further south.

Merner was first elected as a state representative in 2016 while living in Lancaster.

But according to NHPR, he moved to Twin Mountain in August of 2022 without resigning his seat as required by law. He ultimately resigned his seat in September following an investigation by the attorney general’s office.

Merner is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 28 at 1 p.m. in Coos County Superior Court. It was not immediately clear if he had hired an attorney.

He told NHPR earlier this year that he was disputing the allegations, and that there are other state lawmakers who do not live in the districts they represent.

“When I voted, I was still there,” Merner told the radio station.