State gerrymandering fight could hurt school levies, other local elections

TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio legislative leaders are warning the state may have to hold two primary elections this year after the state Supreme Court rejected yet another set of redistricting maps.

State Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said the delay in getting new maps for state legislative and Congressional districts could mean that the state will have to have a primary as scheduled, on May 3, only for races such as the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring two-term Republican Rob Portman.

A second, later primary would be necessary for the General Assembly and U.S. House of Representatives races because the state is unlikely to have those maps ready in time for the May 3 primary, Sen. Huffman said.

The Ohio Supreme Court has now twice rejected maps drawn by the Republican majority because justices said the proposed new legislative districts gave an illegal, improper political advantage to Republicans.

Mapmakers have yet another new deadline — Feb. 17 — to get a third round of maps to the state Supreme Court. 

In the meantime, local officials are concerned about how the redistricting delay may affect their primary election issues.

Locally, Genoa Local Schools Superintendent Michael Ferguson said his district expects to put operating and technology levies on the ballot in the spring. Splitting the primary in two poses problems because that might confuse voters or drive down turnout for one or both elections, he said.

“If they’re talking about pulling state-level elections, separating the state part out, that’s a little problematic for us,” Ferguson said.

If the levies are on the ballot on May 3, but the legislative races that typically draw more voters to the polls do not happen until a later, second primary, turnout could be suppressed, he said.

“You know, half the challenge I think with any election is motivating voters to come out, so if you take something off the plate, you know if that goes away we’re not gonna see as big a voter turnout,” said Ferguson.

The superintendent said that in a normal election year, officials in his district would expect about 1,300 people to come to the polls. That’s less than 30% of registered voters in the area. But without major races driving interest, Ferguson said that turnout will shrink.

In Genoa, the school district needs voters to decide a $1.3 million emergency operating levy and a technology levy.

“As far as the emergency operating levy not passing, we already have at least 11 cuts, staff cuts, on the table, along with a freeze on open enrollment at the kindergarten level,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson says watching the issue of stalled legislative maps lead to the potential of a split election has been frustrating. The mapmakers in Columbus do not seem to appreciate how their political fighting is harming school districts, Ferguson said.

“We provide, I think, a first-class education system for our kids, and anything that interferes with that or slows that process down, they’re the ones that are paying for it. And ultimately our community pays for it,” Ferguson said.

When asked about how they would handle a split primary election this year, Lucas County Board of Elections officials said they have not received any information or guidance for that possibility yet.