town hall meeting

U.S. Sen. John McCain: Getty Images PhotoNASHUA -- In his second visit to the Granite State since January's primary, presumptive Republican presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed the importance and benefits of town hall style forums to a crowd of approximately 300 people at Daniel Webster College.

McCain stressed the importance of the town hall meeting as part of the presidential nominating process, saying that if he didn't host the gatherings during his first White House run in 2000, he wouldn't have learned about the issue of climate change.

Congressman Paul Hodes (D-Concord) is holding a town hall meeting for residents of the North Country on Tuesday, April  29th.

However, Hodes is taking a different kind of approach to the traditional town hall meeting.

Fremont Town Hall MeetingFREMONT- On a Saturday winter night, 150 residents of Fremont (population 4,075) gathered to participate in their last town hall meeting.

In recent elections, voters approved the controversial bill SB2, which replaces the town hall meeting with ballot questions.

In their last town hall meeting, voters debated and voted on items ranging from fixing roads, to setting aside money for a historical museum and allocating money for a mosquito control program.