gerrymandering
May primary continues for other races as state legislative district chaos continues
Voting for the races in the May 3 primary is still going on, despite uncertainty concerning legislative maps. The primary ballot for May will include races for governor, attorney general, auditor of state, secretary of state, treasurer of state, Ohio Supreme Court and congressional races for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, along with […]
Ohio Supreme Court rejects legislative maps, sets fifth redistricting deadline
The Ohio Supreme Court turned away a fourth set of redistricting plans from the Ohio Redistricting Commission in a 4-3 decision on Thursday, but left the responsibility with the commission to redraw the maps yet again. In a separate announcement, the court also denied requests to hold commissioners in contempt of court for violating court […]
Federal court won’t intervene in Ohio’s congressional districts
A federal three-judge panel still waiting on an Ohio legislative redistricting plan said Tuesday it won’t jump into congressional redistricting right now either. Chief Judge Algenon Marbley and judges Amul Thapar and Benjamin Beaton, representing the U.S. District Court’s Southern District of Ohio said a request by two Youngstown voters to wipe out the congressional […]
Ohio House Speaker says no primary election legislation coming soon
Ohio’s House Speaker said Wednesday legislation is not coming to change the May primary date. Speaker Bob Cupp said the process was “in the hands of the federal court,” despite various court documents in which he argued that the election is a legislative issue and any changes should be made in the General Assembly. The […]
GOP Rep: Supreme Court should pay for 2nd primary after overturning redistricting maps
With likelihood growing of state lawmakers establishing a new date for a legislative primary, a freshman Republican proposed requiring the Ohio Supreme Court to fund the roughly $25 million election. State Rep. Ron Ferguson, of Wintersville, unveiled the proposal to reporters on Tuesday. This comes after the Ohio Supreme Court has rejected three sets of […]
‘Under the circumstances,” Republicans say they came up with best legislative plan
The GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission who voted for a slightly reworked version of old legislative maps say they did the best they could “under the circumstances.” The Democratic members of the commission want the court to pick up the rejected plans of two independent mapdrawers instead, while rejecting the maps adopted at […]
Contempt not appropriate in redistricting cases, GOP says
The GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission on Monday submitted their arguments against being held in contempt by the Ohio Supreme Court, claiming they did the work that was asked of them. The commissioners, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Senate President Matt Huffman, House Speaker Bob Cupp, Gov. Mike DeWine and Auditor Keith Faber, […]
Objectors: Changes to legislative maps ‘cosmetic’ at best
Yet again asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reject the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s legislative maps, objectors said the fourth plan is merely the third plan in new window dressing. The League of Women Voters of Ohio, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and a group of Ohio voters represented by the National Redistricting Action Fund, have all […]
LaRose would ‘be fine with’ chief justice’s impeachment over redistricting rulings
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Friday said he “certainly wouldn’t oppose it” if the legislature impeached Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor over her joining in rulings rejecting GOP-generated maps for Congress and the legislature, according to a recording of a breakfast meeting with Union County Republicans. LaRose, who is not a […]
Ohio Supreme Court brings contempt back up in redistricting
The Ohio Supreme Court has given members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission until Monday to explain why, once again, they shouldn’t be held in contempt of a court order. In a filing on Wednesday, the court brought up the idea of contempt as it had after the ORC missed the deadline for adopting legislative maps […]
Ohio Republicans abandon independent mapmakers to pass slightly modified GOP maps
In a 4-3 decision, Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission voted Monday night to pass slightly changed versions of Statehouse district maps previously rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court as unconstitutional. In doing so, they abandoned independent mapmakers they had hired. Commissioners said they did this to fulfill their obligation to send a map […]
Federal court holds off on Ohio redistricting decision, mapmakers continue work
A U.S. District Court decided Friday to wait on a decision to implement maps for the May primary election, as Ohio’s new mapmakers started work on the three major cities in the state. A three-judge panel met to talk about a federal lawsuit brought by Republican Ohio voters, in which the panel is being asked […]