AOTL-OH: New Maps Must Reflect Ohio’s Partisan Makeup and Will of Its Voters

For Immediate Release:
August 12, 2021
Contact:
Fabiola Rodriguez
rodriguez@redistrictingaction.org

Census Bureau’s Population Data Release Marks Latest Milestone In Ohio’s New Redistricting Process

Columbus, OH – Following today’s release of redistricting data by the U.S. Census Bureau, All On The Line (AOTL) is calling on Ohio’s map drawers to immediately get to work hosting the fair, transparent redistricting process required to produce fair, representative maps. Ohio voters overwhelmingly supported important reforms to the redistricting process to ensure the 2022 maps would better reflect the state as a whole.

A fair map is one that is reflective of Ohio and is responsive to the will of its voters, and AOTL will continue to push state map drawers to craft new districts that meet these standards of fairness. At the congressional level, a fair map should create seven seats that lean Republican, six seats that lean Democratic, and two toss up seats. The state legislative districts should include seat shares that closely correspond to Ohio’s partisan makeup - shutting the door on Republicans’ ability to maintain supermajorities in both chambers.

“Despite Ohio’s competitive nature, the congressional maps that were drawn in 2011 eliminated any chance that the make-up of the state’s delegation would ever change across the decade. And our state legislative maps were drawn to give Republicans supermajorities despite winning far less than a supermajority of the votes statewide. Those aren’t fair maps.” said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director for All On The Line. “Ohioans deserve competitive congressional and state legislative elections that actually make politicians accountable to the voters in their districts.”

The new redistricting data, which enables state lawmakers to more earnestly start the mapping process, is expected be used by the Republican-controlled state legislature to gerrymander their party to power in the state House of Representatives and to maintain their supermajority grip on the Ohio legislature.

In 2015 and 2018, Ohioans went to the polls to overwhelmingly pass two reform measures that completely overhauled how the state will redraw its new maps this year. These reforms - now part of the state constitution - include important guardrails against the worst forms of gerrymandering that exist in the current maps. The new congressional and state legislative maps should not only adequately reflect the state’s partisan makeup, but also ensure Ohio’s communities are protected against being unnecessarily divided and its communities of color are protected against having their votes diluted through racial gerrymandering.

“In order to live up to the intent and promise of Ohio’s reform measures, the map-drawing process must be transparent with a robust public hearing schedule – both before and after maps have been drafted – that is accessible to all Ohioans,” continued Shanahan. “The schedule should include ample prior notice, diversity in locations around the state, and virtual testimony options. With the release of Ohio’s redistricting data, there are no longer any legitimate reasons for further delay in jump-starting the map-drawing process.”

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