Establishes statutory criteria for legislative redistricting, requiring compact, contiguous districts based on total population that respect municipal boundaries and communities of interest and that do not favor any party, incumbent, or racial or language group.
establishing redistricting criteria.
HB363 would establish statutory redistricting criteria, including standards intended to prevent maps from being drawn to favor a political party or candidate. Submissions in this sample are overwhelmingly in support, with submitters framing the bill as a needed check on partisan gerrymandering and often as a companion to a related constitutional amendment (CACR2); a single dissenting submission, from an advocacy group, argues the bill's 'communities of interest' criterion is vague, invites litigation, and may be unconstitutional.
The great majority of supporters argue the bill is needed to stop district maps from being drawn to favor one political party, describing current or past redistricting as unfair and undermining representative democracy.
“Every single person in the United States knows that gerrymandering, or redistricting for political advantage, is unfair and hurts our representative democracy.”
— Alison Wilder, Keene · #481889 — read full submission →
“The plan as a whole shall not have the intent or the effect of favoring or disfavoring any political party, incumbent, or candidate for office.”
— Sharon Racusin, Hanover · #485157 — read full submission →
Several submitters frame HB363 as working alongside a related constitutional amendment (CACR2), noting the statutory approach can be implemented more quickly while the amendment proceeds.
Some submitters argue that the current partisan redistricting process has undermined public confidence in elections, and that clear, nonpartisan criteria would help restore trust.
A few submitters emphasize that the bill requires districting based on population and compliance with constitutional requirements, ensuring every voter's ballot carries equal weight.
A few submitters highlight the bill's requirements that districts be single, contiguous, and respect the geographic integrity of towns and communities of interest.
A dissenting submission argues the bill's new 'communities of interest' criterion adds undue complexity and creates a basis for litigation, resting on a potentially unconstitutional statutory presumption.
Generated by claude-sonnet-5 (claude code agent) on Jul 22, 2026. Quotes are verbatim excerpts, verified against the cited submission before publication. Summaries are AI interpretation of the record, not part of it.
It is time the Legislature addressed the problem of gerrymandering! When redistricting, boundaries should be drawn in a non-partisan way as possible. No party should be favored by the simple act of defining voter districts. Vote Ought to Pass.
I hope we will use fair and impartial methods to make all decisions around redistricting criteria. It seems obvious that we would want something that is fair, impartial and will cut down on the ill will and chaos. We are living in a time where there is a fight or violence for almost everything. This is actually caused by people taking unfair advantage and those that are cheated wanting payback. I hope that we will start to move in a more peaceful direction.
It’s way past time to have fair redistricting in NH. I support this bill HB363
This would negatively impact consumers and small businesses. I strongly oppose this bill.
I feel strongly that we need criteria for redistricting that is fair and nonpartisan. Without set criteria, it can be subjective which might favor one party over another.
Voting should be free and fair, as should the state's districting.
Granite staters deserve free and fair elections. Redistributing criteria is crucial for these endeavors. Please support this bill. Ashley Desrochers Rochester Voter
This bill would prevent "independent" voters from participating in primary elections. That would eliminate the 40% of NH votes who are independents!
I support this bill because I think it would prevent drawing boundaries to favor certain groups. It would help to make elections more fair.
No district boundaries should be drawn in a way that favors or disfavors any political party or candidate. I support fair maps!
HB363 works so well with CACR2 . The great need to have both is very obvious to Granite Staters who believe in fair districts vs gerrymandered districts. Doesn't fairness feel good? Fairness, the right thing to do. Fairness, the right way to treat others, the right way to treat all New Hampshire registered voters. It is with a disheartening feeling how there are not any Republican sponsors for HB363. Any NH voter wants to believe Republicans want fairness too. Support and pass HB363
I am in support of making maps fair. Thank you
I support this bill to improve our voting rights!
Fair elections require fair redistricting.
Any and all efforts to protect the will of the voters and eliminate re-districting (and allow gerrymandering) should be passed. Elected officials who run for office and believe they are "public servants" would know that offering policies and platforms popular with the majority of NH voters should be their intent. An elected official's "call to serve" would include wanting to win an election without having used a rigged system that favored their party. Let the composition of the NH legislature represent the will of the people; not the will of a particular political party.
The plan as a whole shall not have the intent or the effect of favoring or disfavoring any political party, incumbent, or candidate for office. I hope all get on board. Fair elections help everyone.
I support this bill.
Any legislator who is against fair districting should be ashamed.
Get rid of gerrymandering! It's un-American, and anti-democratic!
I support this bill's redistricting criteria.
I may or may not speak to this bill in person. HB 363 – establishing redistricting criteria House Election Law Rm. 306 - 308 Tuesday, February 25, 2025 @ 9:20 A.M. Time to read: 1:20 Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I speak in support of HB 363. I will be very brief. I did not intend to speak given personal time constraints, but it was not enough for me to just sign the sheet in support. My presentation on CACR-2 has a similar theme to this bill, that is, providing more detail for map designers and the courts, but as a statute, can be implemented much more quickly. Indeed, this bill at VI and VII contain similar language to that of the CACR, which addresses and is consistent with the concerns I raised in the CACR. The last sentence in V also relates to my presentation on the CACR, and although not given its own Roman numeral here, speaks to the detail needed for courts to understand the intent of the statute. The intentional use of the word “practicable” at V, simply means map designers use their best efforts to comply, given the complications of designing maps, especially for house districts. I hope the so-called New Hampshire Advantage will include passage of laws in the gerrymandering arena that consider people before party. Passage of this bill would be an excellent beginning. I urge OTP. Bob Perry Strafford
I support establishing fair redistricting criteria. Fair district boundaries are the actual American way. Partisan boundaries are unfair. Please support this bill so that we can get fair districts back in NH.
"The New Hampshire Constitution Part Second, Article 9 Apportionment of Representatives states that ""every ten years, the legislature shall make an apportionment of representatives according to the latest general census.."" This bill would create a new criterion for redistricting: ""Districts shall consider the integrity of communities of interest to the extent practicable. For purposes of this paragraph a community of interest is defined as an area with recognized similarities of interests, including but not limited to racial, ethnic, economic, social, cultural, geographic, or historic identities."" This bill would add undue complexity and a basis for litigation. Additionally, the bill rests on a potentially unconstitutional statutory presumption that ""communities of interest"" should have common representation. Granite State Taxpayers recommends a vote AGAINST HB363 Ray Chadwick, Board Member
This bill provides reasonable standards for fair redistricting.
We need to end gerrymandering! This is a very fair bill.