Ohio Republicans Vote to Govern Ohio Under Gerrymandered Maps to Spite Reforms

For Immediate Release:
September 16, 2021
Contact:
Fabiola Rodriguez
rodriguez@redistrictingaction.org

Tonight, in the dead of night and after the final constitutional deadline, the Republican-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission voted along party lines to unconstitutionally gerrymander the state legislative maps again. These adopted maps meet neither the letter nor the promise of the constitutional requirements approved by an overwhelming majority of Ohio voters in 2015 and they are even more gerrymandered than our current maps. They would give the Republicans a whopping 72% of the Ohio Senate seats and 68% of the Ohio House seats. This, despite the fact that they’ve only won just 54% of the vote in the last decade.

“Despite the resounding message Ohioans sent about the need for fair maps, the Republican Commissioners have sent back a message of their own -- they just don’t care,” said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director for All On The Line. “They don’t care about fairness, they don’t care about public input, they don’t care about our reforms or following the law, and they ultimately don’t care about our democracy.”
 
"What happened here is simple: the Commission’s Republicans chose a partisan map instead of negotiating in good faith with their Democratic colleagues who publicly offered compromises. Republicans never wanted bipartisanship, if they did, this outcome would be very different," Shanahan continued. “They used their supermajority on this Commission to muscle through a partisan gerrymander without any concern for the other Commissioners’ opinions and any attempts at consensus. And they clearly have no concern for the voters."
 
“It should perhaps come as no surprise that the same Republicans who’ve spent the last ten years shutting Ohioans out of the political process through gerrymandering and voter suppression have now relegated the state to another four years under gerrymandered maps, but it’s painful nonetheless,” Shanahan continued. “Over the last few weeks, during nearly 15 hearings with hundreds of Ohioans from every corner of the state, the Republican Commissioners heard specific concerns that were clearly articulated but are now flatly ignored.”
 
“Ohioans -- hundreds of All On The Line volunteers and many members of partner and local organizations included -- pleaded for the Commission to join us in the fight for a future in this state that works for and serves everyone. Instead, Republicans have decided to serve only themselves,” Shanahan said. 
 
Now that these manipulated state legislative maps have been adopted, Ohio stands just 15 days away from its first congressional map deadline with no real promise of any marked difference in how Republicans will approach that process. 
 
“If this type of egregious gerrymander is what Republicans do when they have stringent requirements about representational fairness and ensuring communities of color have real pathways to political representation, I hate to think about what’s coming next for the congressional maps. Regardless, All On The Line, our partners, and our volunteers stand ready to make our voices heard. This process is too important to stand on the sidelines,” said Shanahan.

###