New Hampshire Voters File Impasse Lawsuit with Support of the National Redistricting Foundation
New Hampshire Voters File Impasse Lawsuit with Support of the National Redistricting Foundation
Washington, D.C.—In a complaint filed today in Hillsborough County Superior Court, New Hampshire voters supported by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF) are asking the court to step in to draw updated congressional districts for the state based on population changes.
The Republican-led General Court and Republican Gov. Chris Sununu have made clear in multiple statements they will not be able to reach an agreement on a congressional map in a timely manner for the 2022 election cycle. While many other states have completed the congressional redistricting process by redrawing multiple congressional district lines, New Hampshire politicians have unnecessarily dragged out their state’s process and have yet to complete it by agreeing upon the redraw of one line for two congressional districts that would meet the one-person, one-vote requirements as reflected in the 2020 Census data. The purpose of this lawsuit, also known as “impasse litigation,” is to ask the court to enact a new map based on 2020 Census data, allowing the 2022 election cycle to continue in a timely manner.
“New Hampshire has one congressional line to redraw, yet it is one of the last five states to complete the congressional redistricting process,” said Marina Jenkins, Director of Litigation and Policy for the NRF. “It should not take seven months to come to an agreement on modest adjustments to one line to create two districts that accurately reflect population changes and the will of the people. Given that the legislature has been dragging its feet to draw maps in the first place, and has not reached an agreement with the governor, it’s clear that the court needs to step in to ensure the congressional map is properly adjusted in time for the 2022 midterms.”
According to the 2020 Census data, New Hampshire’s current congressional map does not meet the one-person, one-vote legal requirement, and is now malapportioned. In other words, the state’s one congressional line that splits its two congressional districts must be redrawn to meet that standard and reflect the will of the people. The map, which has not substantially changed in over 100 years, needs minor adjustment by about 9,000 people to even out the population deviations between the two districts. Thus far in the 2021 redistricting cycle, where there has been political gridlock, state courts have stepped in to adopt congressional maps that accurately reflect population changes. Recent examples include Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Click here to read the full complaint.
###
Contact: Brooke Lillard | lillard@redistrictingfoundation.org