You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
The impact of gerrymandering is poised to have an even larger impact on the purple state of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has pledged to veto a Congressional map passed by the legislature which makes the state’s two seats uncompetitive – one manipulated to benefit Republicans, the other packed with Democrats. Currently, the state has an all Democrat federal delegation.
But Sununu also needs to take a harder look at the NH Senate and NH Executive Council maps passed last Friday, which guarantee veto-proof majorities in a state which over the last decade has swung both ways.
The legislature has ignored the overwhelmingly negative public testimony on the maps, with hundreds of pieces of written and in-person testimony from residents around the state.
Sununu has made several statements professing that he will only sign bills which, quote, “Pass the smell test,” but so far he has signed the gerrymandered NH House districts, and has taken no positions on the NH Senate or NH Executive Council maps. The proposed rigged maps would give as much as a 16-8 majority in the NH Senate, and a 4-1 advantage in the Executive Council, a body which advises the NH Governor on state contracts and department heads.
Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we HAVE, it’s something we DO.”
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl. Visit our website at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org, or for more information on New Hampshire’s redistricting, visit OpenDemocracyAction.org.