CONCORD, N.H. – The ACLU of New Hampshire on Friday filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the partisan gerrymandering lawsuit, Miles Brown, et al v. Secretary of State, sending the court its previously-commissioned analysis on the State Senate and Executive Council maps that show they are indeed gerrymandered on partisan lines.
“New Hampshire voters are facing unfair electoral maps that are designed to cheat the system and give one party an unfair advantage at winning seats for office,” said Henry Klementowicz, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU of New Hampshire. “We’ll never stop saying it: every Granite State voice should be heard equally in our elections, and it should be the voters themselves that choose their politicians. We hope that the New Hampshire Supreme Court will agree and reverse the dismissal of this case.”
In the November 2022 elections, in which every seat in the New Hampshire Senate and Executive Council were voted on, it is clear the districts were drawn in a way that ensures Republican candidates disproportionately won more seats per vote than Democratic candidates.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Republican candidates for Executive Council received 301,723 votes statewide, and Democratic candidates for Executive Council received 303,233 votes—yet, Republican candidates won four out of the five seats. In races for State Senate, Republican candidates received 293,299 votes statewide, and Democratic candidates received 299,382 votes—yet, Republican candidates won 14 of the 24 seats.
The brief argues that state courts in New Hampshire are indeed empowered and required to address unconstitutional actions by other branches of government, and that because the New Hampshire Constitution prohibits partisan gerrymandering, they should take on this case. Previously, the Superior Court granted the state’s motion to dismiss the case, and the plaintiffs appealed to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The brief asks that the state Supreme Court reverse the Superior Court’s dismissal and send it back to Superior Court to continue the case.