NRAF Files Evidence Showing Republican Commissioners’ Intent to Circumvent Ohio Supreme Court Order
Contact
Brooke Lillard
Lillard@redistrictingaction.org
NRAF Files Evidence Showing Republican Commissioners’ Intent to Circumvent Ohio Supreme Court Order
Washington, D.C. – Last night, petitioners supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF) submitted evidence to the Ohio Supreme Court against the newly-enacted congressional map, including documents that show Republicans had long planned to circumvent the court’s original order and to instead draw another gerrymandered congressional map. The evidence brief includes new revelations regarding communication between Republican Commissioners, their staff, and Republican candidates.
While Democratic Commissioners initiated meetings with their Republican colleagues, Republican staff were largely uncooperative. Although Republicans told Democrats on February 27 that the Republicans “had no map,” evidence shows the following: 1) the Republican map drawer sent map proposals to Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp as early as February 2nd; 2) Ohio Auditor Keith Faber had access to a congressional map proposal from the Republican map drawer on February 21; and 3) Auditor Faber and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose exchanged text messages on February 27 regarding a congressional map proposal. To add insult to injury, Speaker LaRose sent text messages to Madison Gesiotto, a Republican congressional candidate, about the March 1st congressional plan as soon as it was released and promised to keep her apprised with any changes to that map.
“The evidence supports what we have known all along to be true: Ohio Republicans purposefully circumvented the Ohio Supreme Court’s remedial order so they could force through another map that gives them an artificial political advantage,” said Marina Jenkins, Director of Litigation and Policy for the NRAF. “While the Democratic Commissioners were trying in earnest to work with their Republican colleagues on a compliant, compromise congressional map, Republican Commissioners and their staff stonewalled them and instead arrogantly drew another partisan gerrymander behind closed doors. Ohioans know this despicable behavior does not reflect the reform they overwhelmingly supported to ensure fair maps would be drawn.”
This filing is part of the ongoing legal challenge against the gerrymandered congressional map that was passed by the Republican-led Ohio Redistricting Commission as the result of a court-ordered redraw. Instead of drawing a compliant map, the Commission passed a second gerrymandered congressional map on a party-line vote with only Republican support.
The evidence filing documents are available on the docket here.
###