Redistricting committees schedule Grafton County listening session for next week

New Hampshire’s legislative redistricting committees have added an additional public input session next week, the third out of 10, as House and Senate lawmakers tour the state before redrawing the state’s political lines.

On Tuesday, Sept. 28, the House Special Committee on Redistricting and its Senate counterpart will meet in North Haverhill to hear suggestions from residents of Grafton County on how to draw the political districts, the committee announced Wednesday. 

The meeting, which will be held at 6 p.m. at Grafton County Superior Court at 3785 Dartmouth College Highway, comes two days ahead of a previously scheduled meeting for Hillsborough County at St. Anselm College on Sept. 30. That meeting is also set for 6 p.m.

Members of the House and Senate committees have set a jam-packed schedule of listening sessions over the next three weeks, intended to give the state’s residents a chance to weigh in on how House, Senate, Executive Council, and U.S. House districts should be carved up. 

The two committees will jointly hold nine more county meetings between now and Oct. 14, according to a schedule on the House committee’s website. Meetings for all counties but Belknap have been scheduled so far.

On Sept. 14, the committees held their first meeting in Concord for Merrimack County, attended by several dozen residents and some local senators and representatives. The committees’ second meeting, in Dover for Strafford County, is being held Wednesday at 6 p.m. 

Leaders of the committees – which are controlled by Republicans – have rebuffed requests from Democrats to allow remote participation for residents wishing to testify, pointing to the New Hampshire House’s current policy for not providing that access. But Rep. Barbara Griffin, the House committee chairwoman,  has said that House and Senate staff will set up livestream links for as many county meetings as technologically possible, which will later be posted to YouTube. 

Residents who can’t attend in person but wish to give input have been asked to submit written testimony through the committee’s website.