News

The Ohio Redistricting Commission in a meeting at the statehouse

The redistricting committee meets again to hear public input on maps. [Daniel Konik | Statehouse News Bureau]

Time is ticking for the Ohio Redistricting Commission as it decides whether to pass new legislative

By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
Posted on: Monday, March 28, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Today is the deadline for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to pass a fourth set of legislative maps to satisfy the Ohio Supreme Court.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he thinks the maps should be passed by midnight tonight.

“The court order says we are supposed to approve a map. The court order does not provide for a continuance of that time. So the goal has to still be to get a map,” DeWine said.

DeWine wouldn’t say if he would vote for the maps if a plan is presented today.

Mapmakers Michael McDonald (left) and Douglas Johnson (right) give a status report to the Ohio Redistricting Commission on March 24, 2022. [Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau]

Two outside mapmakers have been working for days on legislative maps but so far, members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission have not liked what they’ve seen.

This is the first time the commission has used mapmakers to come up with maps.

A federal court is considering whether to allow the May 3 election to go forward using maps supported by Republicans that have already been ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.