New Hampshire Strafford County Redistricting Challenge

Lawsuit filed by three Democratic Strafford County commissioners against New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan (R) and New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella (R) challenging three newly drawn districts in Strafford County. The Strafford County Commission and its three commissioners make up the executive branch of the county’s government and oversee its daily fiscal and policy operations. In 2023, the New Hampshire Legislature enacted House Bill 75, which split Strafford County’s single at-large commissioner district into three single-member districts starting with the 2024 election. This split forced two of the three current commissioners, who were pushed into the same single-member district, to enter the 2024 Democratic primary against each other. The plaintiffs argue that this second reapportionment violates state law, which permits the Legislature to reapportion elective districts only once after the census, as well as the state constitution’s Due Process Clause. The plaintiffs ask the court for expedited relief by banning the enforcement of the three single-member districts. 

RESULT: On July 13, 2024, the trial court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss. The Strafford County Commission’s three single-member districts will remain in place.

Last updated: April 30, 2024 3:14 pm EST