The redrawing of Ohio’s U.S. congressional districts will take place this year under the same politically controlled process as before, after voters rejected anti-gerrymandering reform in November, but with plenty of insight into the past, voting rights advocates say.
The congressional map Ohio has used for the past four years is set to be redrawn due to a lack of bipartisan support when the map was passed by the Legislature in 2022. Ohio’s redistricting laws require them to be redrawn after four years without bipartisan support . If the map receives bipartisan support, it will last 10 years.
The map currently in utilize is the second version, which was rewritten after the first map, adopted in 2021, was The Ohio Supreme Court found it unconstitutional.
There was a second map he also ruled unconstitutionallybut this it was never prescribedas legislative leaders he opposed this idea that the state supreme court had the power to compel such action. The map submitted in 2022 it resembled the map used in the last election.
The congressional map was simply part of a years-long redistricting process bristling with quarrelslawsuits in both cases federal AND state courts, and such strict public control that a a voting initiative was submitted try to change the process and collectively remove elected officials from the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
Despite the fact that the vote was No. 1 in the November general election he collapsed after defeatsupporters who supported the measure and plan to speak out every step of the way as congressional redistricting moves forward say voters continued to send a message about what they want from a district map.
“The one thing that motivated people to act, whether they voted yes or no, was that everyone was against gerry gerrymandering,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio.
Turcer said the fact that Ohioans are more learned and focused on the effects of redistricting and gerrymandering indicates “significant progress” in the state’s accountability fight. Additionally, whether constitutional or not, legislators and the Ohio Redistricting Commission will be able to hear the real perspective of district residents with a congressional map that has been in place for years.
“One of the benefits of rezoning is that voters used these districts and will wonder if it made sense or if they didn’t divide things too much,” Turcer said.
Until the end of September deadline set by the Legislature, advocacy groups will be preparing the public for the process, as well as talking to legislators to try to get the process off to a good start.
“The Constitution requires a transparent process that strongly engages Ohio voters, and we encourage the General Assembly to begin this process immediately so that Ohioans have ample opportunity to express their input,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
In the meantime, the groups are also monitoring this process for local regions. LWV shared its thoughts during the recent redrawing of districts by the Cleveland City Council, i.e passed quickly just after the New Year and without a committee hearing on the latest version of the maps.
In a letter to the council from League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland co-chairs Nadia Zaiem and Lisa Cech, the group expressed disappointment with the process, given that the council had previously passed a resolution supporting November’s ballot initiative on Issue 1.
“Yet throughout this process, we did not see the same commitment to fairness, transparency and community engagement,” Zaiem and Cech wrote. “Instead, you followed a similar pattern to the Ohio Redistricting Commission… It is for this reason that the league has fought for decades to exclude politicians from the mapping process, regardless of who engages in territorial gerrymandering and whether the motivation is partisan advantage or dominant advantage “
It’s demanding to say how the process will play out this time, though it’s effortless to remain skeptical that it will play out the same as before, with missed deadlines and last-minute map approvals, especially since the Legislature also faces a deadline to pass the state’s two-year operating budget. But supporters still hope Ohioans will make their voices heard there.
“It’s like starting the whole process over again,” Turcer said. “And that means good public hearings, that means good opportunities for Ohioans to draw maps and present them to legislators.”
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