I attended the hearing of the Special Committee on Redistricting on November 9 and testified very briefly.  First, I expressed my gratitude to the Franklin City Council for having the integrity to sign on to a resolution in support of fair redistricted maps. They joined 73 other communities, representing approximately 560,848 residents of New Hampshire.

The main thrust of my testimony was that even though representatives run as Republicans or Democrats, once elected they are tasked with representing their whole community, not just the people who voted for them. They should be doing what is best for “the community,” not individuals. Drawing gerrymandered maps not only hurts those in the opposing party, as well as independent voters, but also disenfranchises members of their own party who are now in other districts where the impact of their votes will not matter. Over 70 towns previously in District 1 are proposed through the recently proposed map to be put into District 2, which will affect several thousand voters.

If you are a Republican who will be forced from District 1 into District 2 of the congressional map, if it is adopted, are you willing to be thrown under the bus and have your vote neutralized?

The districts as previously drawn have been serving both parties well in recent years, giving both parties’ electorates a reasonable chance of having their candidate win. If you are not happy with the proposed changes, the time is now to reach out to HouseSpecialCommitteeOnRedistricting@nullleg.state.nh.us.