• Redistricting

Brown v. Scanlan

11.29.2023
  • New Hampshire
  • Closed

“The National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) supported individual voters in a legal challenge to New Hampshire’s 2022 state senate district map and 2022 executive council district map as partisan gerrymanders that violate the New Hampshire Constitution. The New Hampshire state Senate has 24 members and is constitutionally required to consist of single-member districts. The Executive Council is a five-member, statewide body, each of whom is elected from a single-member district. The Council acts as a check on the Governor’s authority, including approving nominees for judicial offices and state agency heads as well as approving state contracts.

The NRF-supported plaintiffs alleged that these map plans violated several clauses of the New Hampshire Constitution: the state’s Free and Equal Elections Clause as the map will prevent Democratic voters from fairly and equally participating in the political process; the state’s guarantee of equal protection because the map dilutes the voting strength of Democratic voters and deny them their right to a substantially equal vote compared to Republican voters; and the state’s guarantees of free speech and association by retaliating against Democratic voters based on their political views and diluting their ability to group together and elect candidates of their choice. The plaintiffs filed their complaint the same day that Governor Sununu signed the bills into law, May 6, 2022. On October 5, 2022, the trial court granted State Defendants’ motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. On November 29, 2023, which affirmed the trial court’s decision.”