Source: Cincinnati Enquirer, April 4, 2022
Republicans who approved Ohio’s latest state House and Senate maps argued they ditched hired mapmakers’ plans because they weren’t finished and likely violated the Ohio Constitution.
Those suing over Ohio’s legislative maps want members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission – or at least the four Republicans who voted for maps last week – held in contempt of court for ignoring the Ohio Supreme Court’s order to complete constitutional maps.
Maps approved late last week were nearly identical to House and Senate districts rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court’s 4-3 majority. The maps would give the GOP a 54-45 advantage in the House and an 18-15 advantage in the Senate – in line with Ohioans’ voting preferences. The adjustments also reduced the number of highly competitive Democratic districts to 17 in the House and six in the Senate.
On the final day of mapmaking, Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima, OH) pitched this solution as a “failsafe” if two mapmakers hired by the commission didn’t complete their work. In the end, those maps were the ones approved by four GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission. (Republican Auditor Keith Faber opposed the plans because they contained too many splits and districts that were not compact.)
Democrats on the commission – House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington, OH) and Senator Vernon Sykes (D-Akron) – asked the group to approve the hired mapmakers’ plan instead, saying it was finished. But that failed along party lines.
Republicans, in court filings, vehemently disagreed that the hired mapmakers’ plan was done. They also took issue with the “independent” maps including districts drawn by Democratic redistricting consultant Chris Glassburn without GOP members’ approval.