Today, Ohio Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) issued a statement after the majority of Commissioners subverted the bipartisan, transparent map-drawing process ordered by the Ohio Supreme Court, instead introducing and adopting a set of state legislative maps that were drawn in secret by majority commissioners. The Republican maps fail to comply with the Constitution and Court requirement that maps must reflect the statewide preferences of Ohio voters who voted 54% Republican and 46% Democratic over the last 10 years. Republican commissioners forced a vote on the secret partisan maps before the Commission could review the final draft maps drawn by the independent map makers and rejected a motion by Democrats to adopt the final draft maps drawn by the independent map makers.
“Democrats have pushed for a fair and open map-drawing process from the start. Unfortunately, Republican commissioners derailed our historically transparent process, wasted ten days and tens of thousands of dollars and again adopted unconstitutional maps drawn behind closed doors,” Yuko said. “Now, taxpayers are footing the bill and voters are left again with gerrymandered maps. This is disgraceful to the people of Ohio.”
From the beginning, Democrats pushed for a bipartisan, open and transparent map-drawing process. Historic progress was made toward this goal during this round of the redistricting process by holding daily meetings, hiring independent map drawers, retaining mediators to aid in meeting consensus on contentious issues and livestreaming the entire map-drawing process to the public.
In its March 16 ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Commission to draw an “entirely new” set of state legislative maps. The independent mapmakers drew several versions of constitutional, proportional maps that uphold the Supreme Court’s rulings. However, at the eleventh hour, Republican commissioners chose to abandon the bipartisan, transparent work of the independent map drawing process in favor of their partisan plan – with minor revisions to their most recently invalidated maps adopted Feb. 24.
The partisan plan adopted by the majority of the Commissioners contains 17 Democratic-toss up districts in the House between 50-52% partisan share and zero Republican districts within the same range. The Senate map is equally lopsided, with six Democratic Senate districts falling between 50-52% and zero Republican districts in the same range. The asymmetry found in the latest plan is a nearly identical gerrymander to the plan overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court of Ohio just 12 days ago.
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