Ohio redistricting commission to Jan 18th in wake of court rejection
The Ohio Redistricting Commission will meet Tuesday and begin revising new legislative district maps that were thrown out as unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The 4-3 decision invalidated the Ohio General Assembly district maps that were adopted with only Republican support last year by the Ohio Redistricting Commission. Those legislative maps set the geographical area for each Ohio House and Senate district that residents vote on in legislative races.
Democrats on the commission and voting rights advocates said the maps were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans.
The Supreme Court agreed and gave the commission 10 days to draw new ones that comply with a constitutional amendment Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved in 2015 in an effort to end partisan gerrymandering.
“We hold that the plan is invalid because the commission did not attempt to draw a plan that meets the proportionality standard in (the Ohio Constitution),” the court’s ruling says. “We also conclude that the commission did not attempt to draw a plan that meets the standard in Section 6(A) — that no plan shall be drawn primarily to favor a political party.”
The filing deadline for candidates wanting to run in this year’s legislative races is Feb. 2.
“In light of this ruling and the short timeframe to produce a revised map, the Ohio Redistricting Commission will reconvene on Tuesday, January 18, at 10:00 a.m. in the House Finance Room, Statehouse Room 313,” according to a joint statement released Sunday by the redistricting commission. “To help facilitate the commission’s deliberations, individual commission members are instructing respective staff members to abide by the court’s ruling and begin identifying possible areas to address the court’s ruling regarding Section 6 of the Ohio Constitution.”
“Consistent with the court’s ruling, individual commission members will have access to other commission members’ relevant staff and contractors,” the statement said.
The redistricting commission website at www.redistricting.ohio.gov soon will be available for public comment, and commission meetings will be live-streamed on OhioChannel.org.
The seven members of the commission include five Republicans — Governor Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, State Auditor Keith Faber, House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima and Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima — plus two Democrats, in House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, and Senator Vernon Sykes, D-Akron.
