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Huffman defends his maps, redistricting process despite no bipartisan support
State Senate President Matt Huffman defended decisions he and Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission made as they moved forward with a partisan, four-year redistricting plan for the state. Just after midnight on Thursday, maps filed under his name passed through the commission on a 5-2 party-line vote. The maps were only slightly different […]
Republican majority gerrymanders Ohio for another four years
With some using words like “disappointment” and “unease,” Republican majority members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission passed maps of General Assembly districts on Thursday heavily favoring GOP supermajorities that will last four years, if they make it through the courts. In a process that bypassed the midnight deadline by minutes, the commission split along party […]
Final public redistricting hearing brings no agreement
The day before the deadline for legislative redistricting efforts in Ohio, there were no indications that agreement on a map was close. In fact, in a public hearing held Tuesday at the Ohio Statehouse, some citizens conceded that an extension to the deadline could be beneficial, and some Ohio Redistricting Commission members agreed. “Yes, you […]
Dems bring new map to public hearing, public asks for more teamwork
Another long haul of testimony bookended the introduction of an new redistricting map for Ohio on Monday. The two Democratic legislators on the ORC, state Sen. Vernon Sykes and House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, brought up the House and Senate maps at the second of three public hearings for input on how legislative districts should […]
Public redistricting hearings begin again, torching of GOP map continues
As the public input process begins again for Ohio legislative redistricting, many participants at a Sunday night meeting in Dayton asked for new maps that balance ideologies in the state. The testimony at an auditorium at Washington Township RecPlex West went on for hours, with much of it mirroring the feelings of the Fair Districts […]
Redistricting Coalition pans GOP map, hopes for better result by deadline
A coalition of groups hoping to eliminate gerrymandering in the state called the Republican majority’s proposed map for district lines a “failure.” “This map fails disastrously in every way you could possibly measure it,” said Dr. David Niven, political science professor at the University of Cincinnati. The map was unveiled Thursday morning during one of […]
Commission accepts GOP redistricting map as ‘working document’
In a matter of a few hours, Ohio Republican leaders had introduced their proposal for legislative districts in the state, and that map had been accepted as a “working document” by the majority-Republican Ohio Redistricting Commission. Members of the GOP caucus, including staffer Ray DiRossi, who presented the Republican maps, blamed the lateness of census […]
Redistricting Commission to hold double-header Thursday
The Ohio Redistricting Commission could vote on a map in one of two meetings happening today at the Ohio Statehouse. The commission scheduled one meeting at 10 a.m. in the Finan Hearing Room, and another for 2 p.m. in the same room. On the agenda, the ORC said it “will meet to hear testimony on […]
Dems to introduce cybersecurity legislation for unemployment system
Democratic legislators say the first step in solving cybersecurity issues in the state unemployment system is admitting there’s a problem. State Reps. Jeffrey Crossman, D-Parma, and Lisa Sobecki, D-Toledo, say the state’s unemployment system “has compromised personal information and resulted in untold thousands of dollars stolen from deserving recipients” and that the Ohio Department of […]
Study: COVID-19 reversed progress for Ohio women, more than 1 million workers displaced
A new study from an Ohio think tank shows disproportionate lay offs for low-paid workers, gender and race inequity, and “job destruction” as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report released this week by Policy Matters Ohio, titled the “State of Working Ohio 2021,” showed that inconsistencies in assistance from federal and state administrations […]
Ohio AG Yost joins another national lawsuit, this time to overturn LGBTQ protections
Joining 19 other state attorneys general, Ohio’s Dave Yost has jumped in on a lawsuit demanding that sexual orientation and gender identity not be included in discrimination protections. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, argues “administrative agencies,” in this case the Biden administration, don’t have the power to […]
Ohio Supreme Court sides with DeWine in unemployment case
Days before the benefits are set to expire, the Ohio Supreme Court sided with Gov. Mike DeWine in a case questioning his power over unemployment payments, declining a motion for a quicker decision. Ohio residents Shawnee Huff, Candy Bowling and David Willis sued the DeWine administration after he announced the state would no longer be […]