Theresa Norelli & a. v. Secretary of State & a.

Summary

The court held that it had jurisdiction to decide whether New Hampshire's congressional districts were constitutional and to adopt a remedial plan if the legislature failed to act timely. Applying the federal one-person, one-vote requirement for congressional districts, the court concluded that the 2.6% population deviation produced by post-census population shifts violated Article I, Section 2 because the deviation could be avoided and the State identified no legitimate objective justifying it. The court announced that any judicially adopted plan would use a least-change approach centered on population equality and preservation of existing district cores and boundaries.