The seven-member panel of lawmakers that is the Ohio Redistricting Commission is facing an Oct. 31 deadline to come up with an agreement on a bipartisan congressional map. Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine said he'd be calling a meeting for that panel soon. But with the deadline looming in just over two weeks, there are still no meetings on the schedule.
As governor, DeWine calls the Ohio Redistricting Commission into session and sits on the panel, along with the auditor, secretary of state and four legislators, two Republicans and two Democrats from the House and Senate.
On Oct. 9, DeWine told reporters he’d be calling a redistricting commission meeting “soon”. On Tuesday, his answer was the same. When asked to clarify “soon”, DeWine would only say, “Very soon. It’s not going to be too far along.”
A Republican map hasn't been publicly introduced
Democratic state lawmakers released a map last month that would result in a congressional delegation of eight Republicans and seven Democrats in most years. House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) criticized the map as “gerrymandered”. No hearings have been held on that map.
But supermajority Republicans haven’t publicly released a map. And Huffman indicated last week that they might not unveil their map before the Ohio Redistricting Commission's Oct. 31 deadline.
DeWine was asked whether he's talked to lawmakers about producing a map and said, “I've not given them instructions today, no." When pushed to elaborate, DeWine said, "Look, I have discussions. I have discussions with them. I'm not going to get into the discussions."
While Oct. 31 is the deadline for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to pass a bipartisan map, it's not the absolute deadline. Republicans could pass a partisan map without Democratic support by the end of next month. But a map passed with only one-party support would last only six years.
