Congressional Redistricting

Here in Ohio, we will have a new map that passed unanimously, with Democrats saying it was the best of many bad options.

Here in Ohio, we will have a new map that passed unanimously, with Democrats saying it was the best of many bad options.

Congressional redistricting is underway in Ohio again, but many of its one-time supporters say it isn't working as intended.

State lawmakers will miss the first benchmark for Congressional redistricting, meaning the Ohio Redistricting Commission must reconvene, facing an Oct. 30 deadline.

The campaign committee now has until July 3 of next year to collect the 413,487 valid signatures required to make the November 2024 ballot.

The two Democrats on the seven member Ohio Redistricting Commission voted for maps they said were unfair because they were a little better than previous proposals. But the Democrats say the only way to get truly fair maps is to make a change in the redistricting process.

Gov. Mike DeWine grudgingly gaveled the reconstituted Ohio Redistricting Commission to order. That was despite fellow Republicans Senate President Matt Huffman and House Speaker Jason Stephens — presumably from separate locations somewhere off-site — failing to come to any agreement on who the GOP's co-chair should be.

The proposal, championed by two former Ohio Supreme Court justices, would create a 15-member commission that could not include politicians, lobbyists or other partisans to draw district maps for Ohio's Congressional districts and the state's House and Senate.

The Ohio Supreme Court invalidated the maps last week and ordered new maps by Monday, January 24.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission has until October 31 to approve a new Congressional district map.