Political cheating is alive and well in NH as is seen in the proposed, gerrymandered congressional redistricting map currently being considered for approval as HB 52. This map was drawn up and approved by the House against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of NH citizens who have testified at numerous public hearings. We have been blatantly ignored, and HB 52 is now before the Senate to approve, or to amend.
So exactly who will be cheated by this bill if passed? One-half of all of us as NH voters, Republicans and Democrats alike, will be deprived of having our votes matter in congressional elections for the next 10 years. Wouldn’t you think that certainly the majority party legislators would never draw up a map which would deprive one-half of NH Republican voters of their choice for congressperson? Not so. The Republican House legislators chose to purposely “pack” Democratic voters into one district and pack Republican voters in the other, making legislators accountable only to established political parties and big donors but not to their constituents. A clear example of a gerrymandered map! This map is as unfair to Republican voters in District 2 as it is to Democratic voters in District 1. All this so that the established majority party, will have an unfair advantage in choosing our congresspersons. Voters, not legislators, are supposed to choose our congresspersons. Please contact your legislators and our governor and tell them to amend or veto HB 52.
Karin Paoletti
Derry