After ruling that GOP maps were unconstitutionally gerrymandered, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected Republican-drawn congressional maps Monday night.
The justices ruled that the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s latest attempt to draw constitutional maps that accurately represent the electorate were too skewed toward Republicans. It was a 4 to 3 ruling, with one moderate Republican joining the court’s Democrats in rejecting the redrawn map.
The ruling states that Republicans in the legislatureOne Republican-leaning House District and one Republican-leaning Senate District in central Ohio were proposed to be axed. But the Democratic-leaning districts that would replace them were only Democratic by “very slim margins,” the justices wrote.
While previous elections showed that approximately 54 percent of Ohio voters preferred Republicans, 46 percent preferred Democrats, the new maps favor the GOP more, giving them 58 per cent of the seats. According to the Ohio Constitution, the maps must be representative of the electorate’s preferences.
“[T]he revised plan’s structure guarantees that the 58 percent seat share for Republicans is a FloorThe 42 percent Democratic seat share is a ceiling,” the ruling reads. The new maps must be returned by February 17.
The new maps are closer than the original ones to a representative partisan split, but the ruling stated that the adjustments were a façade.
The first maps were created by Republicans about 62 percentalmost 70 percent of Senate and House seats. Justices ruled that Republicans had not created the new maps from scratch, but instead modified the unconstitutional maps. GOP lawmakers “started with the same plan that we invalidated and then merely adjusted certain districts just enough so that they could nominally be reclassified as ‘Democratic-leaning,’” the ruling reads.
Voting rights advocates were happy with the court’s decision. “Now that the Ohio Redistricting Commission is back to square one, we ask that they finally stop and listen to the voters’ demands for a fair redistricting process,” Common Cause Ohio said in a statement, lamenting the fact that the commissions’ map drawing process is done behind closed doors. “After today’s ruling, these partisan games must come to an end. It’s time for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to do its job.”
The bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission (Bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission) is Five Republicans and two Democrats make up the group.The panel was created to eliminate partisanship in map design. The panel has not been able to reach a bipartisan consensus for its maps two times so far.
Republican legislators have been able to sidestep the commissionIn the map drawing process, however, Republican House Speaker Bob Cupp told reportersThe commission will draw all new maps.
Democrats responded to the second rejection of the maps by reaffirming their support. released their own version of the maps, which they say adheres to the Ohio Constitution’s guidelines for a partisan split.
“Our congressional map proposal keeps communities together, reflects the preferences of Ohio voters, and follows the Constitution. Most importantly, it does not unduly favor or disfavor a political party, in compliance with the Court’s ruling,” House Minority Leader Allison Russo, a Democrat, said in a statement.
“There are multiple pathways to achieve the fair, constitutional map that Ohioans deserve, and our updated map is yet another example demonstrating this legislature can deliver a fair map that complies with the court order and the Ohio Constitution,” Russo continued.
