City, plaintiffs appeal redistricting lawsuit to state supreme court

posted on 5/9/2024

The City of Dover and its co-plaintiffs are appealing a superior court decision that dismissed their redistricting lawsuit against the Secretary of State. The plaintiffs allege the state’s redistricting law violates the New Hampshire Constitution.

In late 2023, both parties filed for summary judgment, with Strafford Superior Court Judge Mark Howard holding a hearing on Feb. 7, 2024. In an April 8 ruling, Howard denied the city’s motion for summary judgment and granted the state’s. Last week, the city and the other plaintiffs appealed the decision to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.

The lawsuit centers around how state legislators drew redistricting maps following the release of the 2020 Census data in 2021. House Bill 50, signed into law on March 23, 2022, groups Dover’s Ward 4 residents into two districts combined with other towns. The complaint alleges that Dover’s Ward 4, along with other municipalities, including Barrington, Hooksett, Lee, New Ipswich, Rochester, and Wilton, had combined representation with neighboring municipalities despite New Hampshire Constitutional requirements requiring a dedicated district for political wards and towns with sufficient population.

The City of Dover filed the lawsuit against the State of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Secretary of State on July 26, 2022. The City of Rochester and 10 voters from various municipalities, including Ward 4 Councilor Debra Hackett in her personal capacity and not as a city councilor, have joined Dover in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs’ superior court complaint asked the court to either redraw or order the state to redraw the house representation maps for the affected towns and wards in compliance with the state constitution.

The plaintiffs initially sought the New Hampshire Supreme Court to take the case through an original jurisdiction petition to address the matter directly to obtain a ruling on the merits before the 2022 House of Representatives elections; however, the court denied the petition, which led the plaintiffs to file the superior court complaint. The City Council authorized the City Manager to pursue legal action regarding the constitutionality of the redistricting law at its April 27, 2022 meeting.

Find all filings related to the case at https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/executive/city-attorney/current-litigation/.