Gov. Chris Sununu has vetoed a bill that would have created an independent redistricting commission.
The legislation reached his desk after getting a bipartisan boost in the Senate two months ago. House passage was more of a party-line vote.
Sununu gave the idea a cold shoulder earlier this year, saying the current process has worked well.
In his veto message, Sununu said issues of gerrymandering are "extremely rare" in New Hampshire.
The legislature is tasked every 10 years with redrawing these political boundaries. Sununu said the constitution vests that authority in elected state representatives who are accountable to voters every two years.
"The members of the commission proposed by House Bill 706 would be unelected and unaccountable to the voters," Sununu wrote. "Legislators should not abrogate their responsibility to the voters and delegate authority to an unelected and unaccountable commission selected by political party bosses."
The governor also said he was concerned that one of the groups supporting the bill stated its mission is to "favorably position Democrats for the redistricting process."
