Ohio Supreme Court orders redraw of Republican-drawn state legislative maps

[Diamond_Dog]

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court has struck down the new Republican-drawn state legislative maps that were supposed to take effect for the primary election May.

In the 4-3 ruling, announced Wednesday, Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor joined Democratic justices in saying the maps disproportionately favored Republicans, in violation of Ohio’s new anti-gerrymandering rules approved by voters as a state constitutional amendment in 2015.

The order gives the Ohio Redistricting Commission 10 days to draw new maps, which the court said it would review. The ruling injects an element of chaos into the election, as state legislative candidates already have announced under the now-defunct lines and had begun campaigning in advance of the Feb. 3 candidate filing deadline.

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Under the maps, Republicans had been expected to win 66% of Ohio’s state legislative seats, compared to Republicans’ 54% of the statewide vote. A 2015 constitutional amendment passed by voters requires the Ohio Redistricting Commission to draw politically proportionate maps, based on results of the previous 10 years of statewide federal elections.

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/01/ohio-supreme-court-orders-redraw-of-republican-drawn-state-legislative-maps.html