Ohio Redistricting Commission fails to meet court-ordered deadline

(The Center Square) – Members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission, as well as the people of Ohio, were left wondering what happens next after the commission missed an 11:59 p.m. Thursday deadline to submit new state legislative district maps to the Ohio Supreme Court.

The commission met Thursday afternoon for about four hours for the only time since the court ruled its second attempt at maps was unconstitutional. It only considered and rejected, along party lines, a Democrat-proposed map. Republicans did not present a new map, and members declared they were at an impasse.

“Moving forward, my colleagues believe Ohio’s geography and sprawling population prevent us from achieving a constitutional map that meets proportionality as defined by the four justices of the Supreme Court outlined in their opinion,” Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said. “The commission has now arrived at an impasse.”

State Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, said the commission could have adopted a map that met the court order.

“The court itself has found evidence that it can be done,” Sykes said. “It’s not enough for the commission to say that it’s impossible.”

The court ruled Feb. 7 the commission’s second attempt that preserved Republican majorities was unconstitutional and ordered the commission to adopt a new plan, saying if the commission would have used its time more wisely and been committed to working together to find a map that met court guidelines, it could have been accomplished.

The court ordered the commission to pass and file a new plan with Secretary of State Frank LaRose by Thursday and file a copy with the court by Friday. The court retained jurisdiction to review the third set of maps.

The commission’s first maps favored the GOP by 62% in the House and nearly 70% in the Senate. The second set of maps showed 58.3% Republican-leaning legislative districts, above the court-ordered 54%.

The commission includes Republicans Gov. Mike DeWine; Huffman; House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima; State Auditor Keith Faber; and LaRose; and Democrats House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington; and Sykes.

DeWine, who voted against the Democrat’s proposal, said the commission had an obligation the follow the court’s order.

“We have an obligation to follow the Ohio Constitution,” DeWine said. “We have an obligation to follow the court order – whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not. And three, we have an obligation to produce a map.”

Huffman called the Democrat’s proposal racial gerrymandering, pulling inner-city areas in Toledo and Cleveland into rural areas to create what he called districts more aligned with Democrats.

“It is disturbing the final proposal submitted by the Democrat members of the Redistricting Commission culminated in a textbook case of racial gerrymandering for their partisan gain,” Huffman said. “This is not what voters approved. It is prohibited by both the United States and Ohio Constitutions and is a throwback to the worst chapters of our country’s history.”

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