Brennan Center Responds to New Hampshire Governor’s Veto of Redistricting Reform Bill

MEDIA CONTACT: Mireya “Mia” Navarro, Mireya.Navarro@nyu.edu, 646–925–8760

Yurij Rudensky, counsel in Brennan’s Democracy Program and an adviser to New Hampshire legislators on House Bill 706, issued the following statement:

“It is shortsighted of Republican Governor Chris Sununu to veto this bipartisan bill that would end partisan gerrymandering in New Hampshire. With his veto, the governor is throwing out a plan that would ensure Republicans are treated fairly in the next round of redistricting even if Democrats do well in next year’s elections.

“The bill, HB 706, is a model for bipartisan redistricting reform. It would create a new citizens’ advisory commission to bring independence, transparency, and public input to a redistricting process formerly kept under wraps. The commission would be charged with drawing congressional and state maps under a process split equally among Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters, with the legislature giving final approval. And this new process would allow voters to participate and monitor map drawing.

“Now it’s up to the legislature to override the veto of HB 706. Many Republican lawmakers already recognized that independent redistricting is in their interest given the favorable outlook for Democrats in the next election.”

Brennan Center resources on redistricting and HB 706

Bipartisan NH Bill Raises Bar on Redistricting: https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/bipartisan-nh-bill-raises-bar-redistricting

A Turning Point for Redistricting Reform in New Hampshire?: https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/turning-point-redistricting-reform-new-hampshire

Redistricting: https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/redistricting