COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state’s redistricting process is officially underway as Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, convened the new Ohio Redistricting Commission for the first time Friday.
The initial meeting was short and sweet with both Republicans and Democrats who serve on the seven-member redistricting commission talking the talk, making it a point to express the desire for better process. But now it is time for the committee and the rest of the General Assembly to walk the walk.
The ORC is responsible for drawing statehouse and congressional district maps.
“My goal is to cooperatively work with all of you and give the voters what they wanted,” said Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron.
Ten years ago, maps were drawn in secret by state Republican leaders. Ohioans decided in 2015 and 2018 to have a more transparent and bipartisan process and to have a redistricting commission produce fairer maps that last 10 years.
“I look forward to working with co-Chair Sen. [Vernon] Sykes and all the members of the commission as we undertake this very important task,” said Ohio House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima.
The governor, secretary of state, auditor and Democratic and Republican leadership from the Ohio House and Senate have until Sept. 1 to approve a 10-year statehouse district map. It will only be a 10-year map if it gets bipartisan support. Otherwise, Republicans can pass a four-year map by Sept. 15.
The General Assembly will handle the congressional district maps.
In April, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Ohio is losing one of its 16 seats because the state’s population is growing slower than much of the rest of the country. The commission will have the rest of the census data, four months after it was supposed to have it due to COVID-19, to use for its maps next Thursday.
The legislature has until Sept. 30 to create a bipartisan 10-year map. If it cannot, it goes to the redistricting commission who has until Oct. 31 to do the same thing. If it is not bipartisan, Republicans can pass a four-year map by Nov. 30.
“While we care about deadlines, what matters most to us is that we have a fair, open and transparent process that results in maps that truly serve the voters rather than the parties,” said Jen Miller, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
“The last time these maps were made, they weren’t designed to represent the people of Ohio,” Miller added. “Communities, even neighborhoods, were split really for the sole purpose of securing partisan outcomes. We’re really calling on the map makers, both in the General Assembly and the Redistricting Commission, to uphold both the letter and spirit of these reforms. The spirit really being one of compromise and bipartisanship.”
Miller also hopes the For the People Act passes at the federal level as well which would put even stronger standards in place should Ohio only end up with four-year maps.
Cupp, who is a co-chair of the redistricting commission, said there will be nine public meetings between now and the time maps have to be drawn. The other co-chair, Sykes, said he is confident the maps will be fairer this time around but how much fairer he said depends on what gets negotiated.
