A former state lawmaker who resigned his seat after the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office raised questions about his residency has pleaded guilty to wrongful voting and misdemeanor theft charges for filing false mileage reimbursements.
Under the deal approved Wednesday by a Coos County Superior Court judge, Troy Merner was sentenced to two six-month jail sentences, both suspended pending good behavior. Merner also loses his right to vote in New Hampshire, and will pay $1,100 in restitution.
Merner, a Republican initially elected to serve Lancaster in 2016, moved to nearby Twin Mountain sometime in late 2022, but still cast a ballot in Lancaster’s 2023 Town Meeting. He also continued to serve on the Lancaster select board and file false mileage reimbursements to the Legislature from his previous address.
Merner’s attorney didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday. Merner previously told NHPR that he didn’t believe he had done anything wrong.
Democrats raised concerns about the pace of the Attorney General’s investigation into the matter, which took nearly a year to complete after receiving a tip from a local voting official who questioned Merner’s participation in town elections.
While the Attorney General’s investigation was ongoing, Merner also continued to cast votes in the Legislature despite living outside of the district he represented. At the time, the New Hampshire House had a historically narrow margin, with Republicans holding just a few more seats than Democrats.
In December 2022, the Attorney General’s office notified Terry Pfaff, the Legislature’s chief operating officer, that it was looking into Merner’s residency. But it isn’t clear if that information was shared with House Speaker Sherman Packard. Packard repeatedly denied his office was made aware that one of his fellow Republicans was living outside of his district.
This March, the Attorney General’s office announced it would change how it handles subsequent investigations into the residency qualifications of elected officials, including notifying both the majority and minority party leaders if there is a credible allegation.
