Cornelia Schneider: Demand an Independent Redistricting Commission for New Hampshire

To The Daily Sun,

Gerrymandering is wrong. It doesn’t matter if readers are a Republican, a Democrat, or an undeclared voter. The practice of politicians picking their voters, rather than allowing voters to select their politicians, is fundamentally unethical.

Not only is gerrymandering unethical, but it is also profoundly inefficient. The 2022 redistricting cycle in New Hampshire was a complete fiasco. Our "First in the Nation" state became the last in the nation — by a wide margin — to finalize its maps. This only happened because the New Hampshire Supreme Court was forced to intervene, appointing a "Special Master" to finally create a balanced congressional map. Meanwhile, the other highly gerrymandered state legislative maps were left untouched.

All voters, regardless of political preference, deserve partisan-neutral maps. This is essential because gerrymandering breeds extremism. Here in New Hampshire, we are "purple people" — or at least we should strive to be. Look around. Readers' neighbors may not share their political persuasion, but they are still neighbors. We still help one another and respect one another; that is the New Hampshire way.

Granite Staters of all stripes deserve non-partisan district maps. It is time to end the political bickering and demand an Independent Redistricting Commission for New Hampshire.

Cornelia Schneider

Moultonborough