Ohio Voters File Objection Against 4th Set of Gerrymandered State Legislative Maps
Contact
Brooke Lillard
Lillard@redistrictingaction.org
Ohio Voters File Objection Against 4th Set of Gerrymandered State Legislative Maps
Washington, D.C. – Washington, D.C. — Today, in a submission to the Ohio Supreme Court, voters supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF) filed objections to the fourth set of gerrymandered state legislative maps, which were passed by the Ohio Redistricting Commission as a result of the court-ordered redraw. Rather than adopting fair maps drawn by independent map drawers, the Republican-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission passed a set of state legislative maps – the Commission’s fourth try – that are 99.7 percent identical to the most recent (third) set of state legislative maps, which were struck down as partisan gerrymanders that violated the state constitution by the Ohio Supreme Court. The gerrymandered maps were passed by the Commission with only Republican support and earned bipartisan opposition.
“Driven by their seemingly endless well of partisan greed, Republicans have once again exhibited their complete disdain for Ohio voters, their Democratic colleagues, the state constitution, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the worthy – and attainable – goal of fair, independently-drawn maps,” said Marina Jenkins, Director of Litigation and Policy for the NRAF. “This time, the Commission had fair maps before them that were drawn by independent map drawers, map drawers whom the commissioners themselves selected. Instead of adopting those maps, Republican Commissioners pulled copied-and-pasted gerrymanders from their back pocket at the eleventh hour, forcing through slightly tweaked versions of the maps most recently struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court. One Republican Commissioner even admitted that Republicans had planned days in advance of the Commission’s deadline to circumvent the efforts of the independent map drawers, and later touted how little they changed from the previous gerrymanders. It’s crystal clear that they can no longer be trusted to run a fair process, let alone adhere to state laws. Ohioans deserve fair maps – as required by law.”
To read the full brief, click here.
###