Verdict against former MP Troy Merner imminent; prison sentence not expected

By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org

Former Republican state Rep. Troy Merner is scheduled to appear in Grafton Superior Court at 11 a.m. Wednesday for his sentencing hearing.

Merner, 63, plans to plead guilty to charges of illegal voting and stealing taxpayer money, seeking to end the controversy he sparked by moving from his Lancaster district to Carroll and serving a full term as a state representative in violation of the state constitution.

Merner resigned from the House in September 2023 after New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella's investigation confirmed what many already knew: Merner moved from his Lancaster district before winning the 2022 election. He then served throughout the House session, with House Speaker Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) aware of the allegations but later insisting he believed Merner when he said he still lived in Lancaster.

The Attorney General's Office began investigating Merner in November 2022, interviewing the then-Representative at the Carroll home he then shared with his new wife. In December 2022, the Attorney General's Office informed House leadership of Merner's living situation.

Merner remained an MP despite not living in his constituency. Packard claims he was waiting for the Attorney General's investigation to be completed. However, the investigation appeared to be dormant until March 2023, when it was revealed that Merner had voted in the Lancaster local elections.

After Formella's investigation was completed in September 2023, Packard was able to force Merner to resign. Merner was subsequently criminally charged with voting illegally in Lancaster and claiming improper mileage reimbursements for travel between his former home in Lancaster and the State House in Concord.

According to a plea agreement, Merner will not have to serve any prison time if the judge accepts the settlement.

Merner was scheduled to attend a confidential mediation in the criminal case, but it was canceled, court records show.

Instead, Merner agrees to pay $1,100 in damages, not to run for elected office during the next two years of his suspension, and acknowledges that he has been disenfranchised.

Merner pleaded guilty to election fraud and to stealing by deception. In exchange for the guilty pleas, the state dropped charges of perjury, tampering with government records and election fraud.

Merner must be of good behavior during his suspension or face six months in prison on the two charges and must repay the $1,100 mileage allowance.

According to the lawsuit, Merner will be able to run for office after serving his sentence, but the New Hampshire Constitution prohibits him from voting unless the state Supreme Court restores that right.

Reporter Damien Fisher contributed to this report.