Elizabeth Merry's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Elizabeth Merry has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2016 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
New Hampshire State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing New Hampshire's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into New Hampshire's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| Support for small business to stimulate job creation | |||
| Corporate taxes: I interpret this as being for business taxes in the State | |||
| Privatizing certain government services: I believe this should be non essential or core services only, ie. liquor stores,etc. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for New Hampshire governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for New Hampshire state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Public funding of elections should be considered in place of what we have now. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Under certain circumstances and specific crimes, youths who are accused of a violent crime, should be prosecuted as an adult. Or, the definition of minor should be modified. | |||
| No | a) Do you support establishing a state income tax? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| c) Do you support the expansion of state-regulated gaming? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Comment on state regulated gaming: depends on the bill, the regulatory environment, the distribution of the revenues, and the process of determing the locations selected etc. Comment on state income tax: NH should initiate a forum for public input on broadbased taxes and structural tax reform. The output of that process would indicate whether or not to introduce legislation regarding an income or sales or other forms of taxation. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from New Hampshire high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Re illegal immigrants and tuition eligibility: I would hope that those students interested in in-state tuition would be encouraged to become legal immigrants and apply for US Citizenship. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to New Hampshire's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Re support to farms that produce biofuel crops: I would like to support foresters and land managers in their production of wood products and biofuels. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| Re gun laws: I believe the rights of the individuals should be balanced against public safety concerns. Therefore, I support carrying weapons under controlled circumstances, ie. for sports, but not into public buildings such as schools and our courts. | |||
| a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in New Hampshire? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| I support a universally accessible, publicly administered health insurance as ONE OPTION. If that is the correct interpretation of the question, then the answer is yes. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should New Hampshire continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| * managing the budget * job creation by reducing regulation and providing support to small business * expansion of high speed internet to all parts of the State * mental health and substance use disorder parity in our health care private plans. The cost increase to premiums is expected to be minimal, but the benefits in lost productivity and education, and decrease in recitivism in our corrections facilities will save money. * protect municipalities from any downshifting of taxes by the state * maintain State school funding levels |
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