Updated: March 31, 2022, 7:02 A.M.
A federal court panel is asking top Ohio elections officials for help determining whether to delay the state’s May 3 primary over redistricting chaos that has engulfed the state and left both congressional and state legislative lines unresolved.
A three-judge panel pressed top Ohio elections officials Wednesday to identify a timeline that would allow for delaying the May 3 primary election and under which legislative map to hold it.
The primary is in limbo after the state Supreme Court ruled repeatedly that maps drawn by the Republican-dominated Ohio Redistricting Commission were unconstitutional. By Wednesday, the sense of frustration surrounding the proceedings was palpable. At one point, the panel of U.S. District Court judges pleaded with Ohio’s top elections officials to take a position on whether the primary should go forward as planned.
The panel signaled concern about granting Republican voters' request to uphold district boundaries the Ohio Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional. Judges expressed frustration at Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose's lack of guidance or opinion on the matter.
Complicating matters for them is that the unconstitutional maps before them were superseded Monday by a fourth plan. Those maps are again being challenged.
