In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss the redistricting process as Ohio loses a congressional seat. Ohio State University law professor and election law expert Ned Foley joins the show.
Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me A Map
Redistricting is the process by which politicians get to pick their own voters. That’s basically what an independent analysis says Ohio Republican leaders have done with the state’s legislative maps. Now the congressional map is finished. All give Republicans a clear advantage.
The congressional map-making process finished this week. Ohio now has 15 districts. Two can be called competitive – with one slightly favoring the Republican and the other slightly favoring the Democrat.
Democrats and voting rights groups say the maps are unfair, and not what voters who approved a new process wanted. Republican supporters insist the map is constitutional and they point out the map keeps seven major cities wholly inside congressional districts.
Snollygoster Of The Week
Some 8,000 Ohio nursing home residents have died from COVID but we don’t know where they lived. The state has been vigilant in not disclosing that information - citing patient privacy.
Cincinnati TV Station WCPO and a few others have sued the state demanding that information, which normally is on public death certificates, should be open to the public.
That fight remains in the courts, but WCPO learned this week the state health department has spent some $42,000 on attorney’s fees fighting to keep the records private.
Send questions and comments to snollygoster@wosu.org.
