COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — It’s up to House Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) to call for a new Ohio Redistricting Commission meeting but at this point no one knows when or even if that meeting will happen.
House Speaker Bob Cupp [Ohio House]The commission has until the end of Thursday to adopt a new state House and Senate district map after the previous plan was ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.Dan Tierney, spokesperson for Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), says the governor believes the commission should meet and do all they can to follow the constitution and the recent court decision.”However, Governor DeWine believes significant roadblocks remain to achieving a consensus map. The commission has yet to see a map that is both proportional and constitutional. Recent proposals do not greatly differ from previous maps that had constitutional issues. The biggest hurdle remains that Ohio’s political geography does not match the proportionality of recent statewide votes. That being said, the Governor believes the Commission should attempt to comply with the recent order,” Tierney says.Prentiss Haney, Ohio Organizing Collaborative co-executive director, is among the plaintiffs that challenged those previous maps in court.Haney says the inaction from the commission is an argument for why fair districts are needed.”This particular moment is showing what happens when we have extreme gerrymanders. The elected officials who are part of the process, don’t feel accountable to the voters and to the Ohio Constitution,” says Haney.
There’s no word yet from Cupp on when the redistricting commission will meet to adopt new state House and Senate district maps, after their second attempt was again found unconstitutional by the supreme court.
