COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission said it is impossible to draw a fifth set of legislative maps without putting the integrity of a potential August primary in danger.
What You Need To Know
- The Ohio Redistricting Commission had its first meeting of its fifth try to draw Ohio House and Senate maps
- It has been nearly three weeks since the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the fourth pair of maps adopted by the commission to be unconstitutional
- Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission said it is impossible to draw a fifth set of legislative maps without putting the integrity of a potential August primary in danger
- Rep. Jeff LaRe, R-Violet Township, replaced House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima, and Ohio Senate Majority Whip Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, replaced Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, on the commission
Secretary of State Frank LaRose, R-Ohio, the state’s top elections official, said he would not vote on any new maps the commission draws unless he gets the blessing of the General Assembly’s leaders to first pass emergency legislation to address concerns surrounding their primary.
“I’m not willing to compromise the integrity of our elections by rushing through a new map at this point,” LaRose said.
It has been nearly three weeks since the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the fourth pair of maps adopted by the commission to be unconstitutional. The commission has until May 6 to submit a new batch to the court.
During its first meeting of its fifth try to draw Ohio House and Senate maps, Republicans shot down a motion to rehire the independent mapmakers who participated in the fourth process. Ultimately, the commission achieved nothing Wednesday.
When asked what the plan is moving forward, Rep. Jeff LaRe, R-Violet Township, who took Ohio House Speaker Robert Cupp’s, R-Lima, place on the commission, said, “I think it’s up to the co-chair [Vernon] Sykes and I. We’ll discuss that and figure out what the next meeting schedule’s going to look like. And obviously, we’re going to have to collaborate with the other members to coordinate with our staff and their schedules.”
Reps. Jeff LaRe (standing, right) and Rob McColley (standing, center) are sworn in to the Ohio Redistricting Commission by Gov. Mike Dewine (standing, left). (Josh Rultenberg/Spectrum News 1)
Cupp said he left the commission because there are other pressing issues he has to deal with as Ohio House Speaker with just a month left in the legislative session before summer break.
The commission will meet again Thursday at 4:45 p.m. However, progress on new maps does not look promising.
“There’s no will to comply with the Constitution. And that’s quite unfortunate because the people of the state spoke loud and clear that they want fairness,” said Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron.
“We can’t just walk away from this. We can’t just say we’re not going to try. We have an obligation to try to do this. And so that’s what I’m going to express to the chairman,” said Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. “I think we need to come back in and we need to instruct our mapmakers to go try.”
Ohio Senate Majority Whip Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, was added to the commission to replace Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima. Huffman said Tuesday he appointed McColley because he wants to focus on other pressing needs like the Capital Budget.
McColley spent his time Wednesday asking Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, about the Democrat’s expenses in drawing maps.
Meanwhile, voting rights advocates were visibly upset about what they witnessed.
“Fair maps! Fair maps!” they chanted and screamed for fairness in the process as reporters tried to get answers from the commission.
“It’s absolutely disappointing and disgusting,” said Jen Miller with the League of Women Voters of Ohio. “They talked about how they ran out of time, but they had 20 days that they did not meet. We have an independent, bipartisan set of maps that could be adopted today. They are finished. They are more compact. They are more fair. And they were created with the transparency that the people of Ohio expected.”
Auditor Keith Faber, R-Ohio, has come up with a new general assembly proposal and shared with other commissioners but did not present it publicly Wednesday.
A federal court has said if the state does not figure out its legislative redistricting situation by May 28, it will implement the third set of maps drawn and adopted by the Republicans on the commission despite the Ohio Supreme Court previously ruling them unconstitutional because they unfairly favor the Republican Party.
