When Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed fair and equitable redistricting, his justification was “New Hampshire has a redistricting process that is fair, representative, and accountable to voters. New Hampshire takes the process seriously and we should take pride that issues of gerrymandering in the State are rare.” (Governors veto message of HB1165 7/31/2020).

In 2022 we know this is absolutely not true as our partisan New Hampshire State Representatives and Senators have tipped the playing field even more (worse gerrymandering) as partisan loyalty is about to crush the last semblance of fair New Hampshire representation.

Now is the defining moment for Gov. Sununu, will he prove to be the Governor of all New Hampshire or just another partisan politician who can’t put voters above party. Governor Sununu can hide behind excuses like, once it’s on my desk. Or, he can prove he has the strength and courage to stand for all New Hampshire by walking on to the Senate and House floor and either defend the current maps or refute them for the grotesque gerrymandering they are.

The governor should discuss every gerrymandering question with both houses and the public. Currently, with the New Hampshire Senate maps, if the popular vote goes 50/50, voter packing could give one side a 16-8 majority. The U.S. congressional districts leaves people like me, who don’t like either party, irrelevant in U.S. House elections. The Executive Council map does not appear as atrocious as it is today, but it still blatant gerrymandering. The absolute minimum number of communities who qualify for a dedicated House Representative should be assigned one, as our New Hampshire Constitution instructs our elected leaders.

Everyone who does not want to see New Hampshire locked in to pure red and blue districts for the next decade needs to speak up and remind the Governor he should be sticking up for all of us, not just his party. If the base maps the Senate and House are pushing forward do not get majorly overhauled, it will be the rare instance when the 37% of voters who are registered undeclared will even matter for the next 10 years.