On Thursday, Ohio became the first state to sue the U.S. Census Bureau over late redistricting data. After the Bureau announced it would delay the release of the data on the statutory deadline of March 31, postponing release to Sept 30, the Ohio Attorney General filed suit in federal district court to request data delivery for Ohio either on the statutory date or on the earliest date possible.
The complaint challenges the decision of the Census Bureau to delay data delivery to the States due to processing delays caused by Covid-19 and its focus on delivering apportionment data to the President under the previous administration. The complaint also objects to the Bureau’s decision to release every state’s redistricting data simultaneously on Sept. 30 as opposed to releasing data to states on a rolling basis, in which case Ohio might receive data earlier than the Sept. 30 date.
Under a newly amended state constitution, the Ohio Redistricting Commission must redraw the state’s legislative districts by Sept. 1 2021, a congressional map is due shortly after; this clearly makes Ohio’s legal position regarding redistricting deadlines untenable.
