By Dana Wormald | Editor
Good morning, New Hampshire, and welcome to a new week. Today, Ethan DeWitt reports on a recent Executive Council debate over pay for contracted snowplow drivers. Also, Stateline’s Anna Claire Vollers checks out the readability of this year’s ballot questions. And, from States Newsroom’s Jennifer Shutt, why the 2026 U.S. House races are so rarely competitive. Thank you for reading, and enjoy the day. — Dana
A plow clears a road in Bartlett during a storm on Jan. 17, 2024. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Ethan DeWitt
The leaves have only just begun to fall, but New Hampshire’s Department of Transportation is already raising concerns about snowplowing season. For years, the agency has struggled to recruit plow drivers and has turned to private contractors to make up the gap. Last week, the department presented its latest maneuver to the Executive Council: a plan to increase the amount it pays those contractors by 15%. It will cost the state an additional $2 million to $3 million for the 2026 to 2027 winter season.
Voters mark their primary election ballots at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, on March 3, 2026. This year’s statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, according to a new report. (Photo by John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)
By Anna Claire Vollers
This year’s statewide ballot measures are written, on average, at a graduate-school reading level, according to a new report. The readability of 2026’s ballot questions — which ask voters to weigh in on issues as varied as abortion, property taxes, voter ID and firearms — varies by state, political data tracking nonprofit Ballotpedia found in its newest Ballot Measure Readability Report.
By Jennifer Shutt
Fewer than 5% of U.S. House races are seen by a top political analysis as truly competitive heading into November’s midterm elections, giving relatively few voters the ability to determine which party controls the chamber for the next two years.
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