NH Senate Election Law & Municipal Affairs committee will hold a public hearing on redistricting maps Monday, January 31, 1-4 pm

NH's legislators running public hearings on redistricting are up to their old tricks again.  A hearing for Monday, Jan. 31, 1-4 pm was confirmed today for NH Senate Election Law   Here's what we know and don't know.

• The time for this hearing has now been confirmed for 1-4 pm
• Visibility will begin at noon, outside the State House
• We're certain that HB 50, the House-approved NH House voting district maps will be heard
• There is an amendment for the House maps which gives Berlin its own House district, changes Manchester to give them 33 reps (they could have had 35) but also creates a large floterial in Manchester.   It also makes a change in Merrimack County.  The amendment only reduces the towns not getting their own, unshared House districts from 56 to 55, when it could have been 40.   The amendment should be opposed.
• We now know that the HB 52 House-approved Congressional maps will be heard
• We expected an amendment to make it more acceptable to the Governor.
• We THINK there will be amendments to the Congressional map, blessed by the Governor
• We THINK that an amendment to the SB 241 Executive Council maps may be heard as well.

We would like the testimony for this hearing to be as extensive as the House maps were, with your amazing in-person testimony & written testimony.    We will be holding signs outside and will have other COVID-safe actions as well, like letters to the editor and social media. 

What We're Asking You to Do

1)  RSVP below to us so we know you're willing to help.

2)  Choose What Are Comfortable Doing to Help - After you RSVP, You will be taken to a volunteer page where you can specify how you'd like to help fight these terrible maps:  Testify in person, testify in writing, hold signs, write LTEs and more.

3)  Attend the Map Review - If you're doing testimony or would like to learn more, the Map-a-Thon team will be reviewing all the maps for which we have pending amendments, and the NH House maps again, pointing out the unresolved issues such as city ward changes.   This Zoom meeting is at 2 p.m. January 30:  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88966409680?pwd=UGZpOGxaNkNWY2FPQU1MMER6aDJJQT09

Meeting ID: 889 6640 9680  Passcode: 143233
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4)  Remote Sign-In on the Proposed Maps/Bills by Monday 10 AM:   Beginning FRIDAY, Jan. 28 by noon, everyone, whether in-person or at home, should register a "Remote Sign-In" position on the redistricting maps/bills.  Open Democracy Action has a new page to make this process easier. 

    https://www.opendemocracyaction.org/legislationaction

Your testimony and actions are making a difference!  

We wouldn't be talking about amendments to these bad bills if the perpetrators of these maps weren't feeling the heat!  

Thank you, and please let me know if you have questions!

Brian Beihl 

House-Approved House Map with Amendments to Coos and Hillsborough Counties