Work continues on Ohio statehouse district maps

COLUMBUS — Ohio’s political mapmaking body has disagreed along partisan lines on the best way to finish work on a new set of constitutionally sound boundaries for state legislative districts.

Most of Monday, the seven-member, GOP-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission awaited the final results from two independent mapmakers who worked through the weekend on new maps in a first-ever process allowing their work to be viewed step-by-step online.

Late Monday afternoon, the commission reversed course and voted 5-2 to revive maps previously declared unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court and make some adjustments to them in the hopes of fixing problems identified by the court.

Democrats say the latest plan is nearly identical to a plan overturned by the Ohio Supreme Court of Ohio on March 16.

“It is abundantly clear that Republicans lack the political will, not the ability, to adopt constitutional maps,” said House Minority Leader and commission member Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington).

Russo and her fellow Democrats say the map adopted Monday contains 17 Democratic-leaning tossup districts in the House and six in the Senate with no Republican districts considered competitive.

Mapmakers are in a race against the clock with Ohio’s May 3 primary drawing ever closer.