Lawyers for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee say the map is disproportionately slanted in favor of Republicans, in violation of new anti-gerrymandering language contained in the state constitution.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A national Democratic group tied to former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder is pressing the Ohio Supreme Court to reject Ohio’s Republican-drawn congressional map and appoint its own mapmakers to develop a new one.is disproportionately slanted in favor of Republicans, in violation of new anti-gerrymandering language contained in the state constitution.
The map is being used for this year’s election, even as the Ohio Supreme Court cases continue. The court is likely to decide the state case later this summer, with any changes targeted toward the 2024 election and beyond. In their Ohio Supreme Court filings on Thursday, NDRC lawyers say Republicans in their congressional map unnecessarily split major cities like Columbus and Cincinnati to avoid creating Democratic-leaning districts in heavily Democratic areas of the state.
“This Court can and should exercise its map-drawing authority to break the continuous cycle of lawlessness and wasted resources being perpetuated by the General Assembly and the Commission,” the filing says.