On Wednesday, Jan. 12th, The Ohio Supreme Court invalidated Republican-drawn state House and Senate district maps as partisan gerrymandering under the Ohio Constitution. The justices struck down the maps in a 4-3 decision, sending the maps back to the Commission with just a 10-day window to redraw the maps. Read the opinion below.
“We hold that the plan is invalid because the commission did not attempt to draw a plan that meets the proportionality standard in Article XI, Section 6(B). 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. Because we declare the plan invalid under these sections, we do not decide whether the plan also violates the rights to equal protection, assembly, and free speech guaranteed under the Ohio Constitution. We order the commission to be reconstituted and, within ten days of this judgment, to adopt a new plan in conformity with the Ohio Constitution.”
[…] last week comes from Ohio, where the State Supreme Court delivered a one-two punch to lawmakers by invalidating the state legislative district map on Wednesday and striking down the congressional map on Friday. It described the maps as […]