The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday rejected a 2nd revised map of state Senate and House districts drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The first map was invalidated by the court on Jan 12. The latest maps, adopted by the commission on Jan. 22nd, still violate state constitutional provisions prohibiting maps that favor any one political party according to the court. The commission must adopt a 3rd plan and file it with the court by February 18, 2022. Read the order here.
The court interprets the state constitution’s proportionality standard to mean that any map should reflect the average voting percentages for each party within the last decade. For Ohio, that means Republicans should be favored in 54% of the districts and Democrats in 46% according to the court. The court expressed frustration at the commission’s unwillingness to take this requirement seriously:
“Throughout the process, the Republican map drawers refused to expressly work toward a 54 to 46 percent partisan share. Yet that is not a “superficial ratio,” a “Democratic ratio,” or an “arbitrary percentage,” as one commissioner cavalierly dismissed it. Rather, as we made clear in [in our previous decision] it is a foundational ratio created not by this court or by any particular political party but instead etched by the voters of Ohio into our Constitution.”
The court also stressed the need for the commission to execute its redistricting duties in a nonpartisan manner despite their official positions in state government. “Members of the legislature selected to serve on the commission must be, in good faith, commission members first, setting aside their usual partisan modes. Section 6(A) directly prohibits actions in conflict with this principle.” The 7-member commission is comprised of the governor, state auditor, secretary of state, and four individuals appointed by the majority and minority leaders of the General Assembly.
The court’s opinion documents the process the commission went through to redraw the first revised map(s) in great detail and it noted the partisanship that ensued. The court also pointed out that the commission wrongly started with the invalidated map.
the map drawers misunderstood their task. They were guided by incorrect directives, began with an invalidated plan, and worked to eliminate closely Republican-leaning districts by turning them into competitive “Democratic-leaning” districts. The commission set its compass wrong, and it wound up in the wrong place.”
Read Media Coverage from: Dispatch.com, Courtnewsohio.com, Newsweek, and Cleveland.com.
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