Ohio Supreme Court Strikes Down 5th Set of Gerrymandered State Legislative Maps
For Immediate Release
May 25, 2022
Contact
Brooke Lillard
Lillard@redistrictingaction.org
Ohio Supreme Court Strikes Down 5th Set of Gerrymandered State Legislative Maps
Washington, D.C. -- Today, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down the Republican-led Ohio Redistricting Commission’s fifth set of state legislative maps as partisan gerrymanders. This follows the Republican commissioners’ attempt to re-adopt the exact same maps that were previously invalidated.
Marina Jenkins, Director of Litigation and Policy for the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF), issued the following statement in response to the court’s order:
“Unsurprisingly, the Ohio Supreme Court today struck down a set of maps it had already struck down as unconstitutional. What is truly astounding is the fact that we are even in this position in the first place – with Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Committee openly flouting the state’s constitutional restrictions, having submitted the exact same set of maps already deemed unconstitutional, and the court having to rule on it again. Had the Republican commissioners abided by state law at the start or adhered to the state supreme court’s directives, Ohio voters would have fair maps and this process would have ended months ago. Instead, Republican commissioners passed unconstitutional gerrymander after unconstitutional gerrymander in open defiance of the will of the people.
“We must be clear-eyed about the story of this redistricting cycle in Ohio. It is a fact that the Republican commissioners purposefully turned the Ohio Redistricting Commission into a partisan circus instead of a means for bipartisan agreement as the state constitution intended. But even more disturbing is the fact that the Republican commissioners made the undemocratic decision to violate the state constitution – not once, but five times, ignoring multiple orders by the Ohio Supreme Court along the way. The Republican commissioners should have been held in contempt for their behavior.
“We find ourselves in this current situation because Republicans have apparently committed themselves to securing unearned political power at any cost, even if that means openly and blatantly violating the law and court orders. It is, truly, contemptuous.”
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