Redistricting committee gets last chance at maps Tuesday

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(The Center Square) – The General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Congressional Redistricting plans its final meeting on the day the state’s constitution sets the deadline for lawmakers to approve bipartisan new maps.

The Republican majority committee has until Tuesday to send the maps to a full House and Senate vote, which would require a two-thirds vote for passage, with at least half of the Democrats.

Tuesday’s meeting agenda only includes a second hearing for Democratic proposed maps that would change the state’s congressional outlook from 15 Republican seats and five Democrats to an 8-7 split.

Republicans have not made any potential map public.

Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richman, co-chairman of the committee, said last week the committee will not pass new maps.

“We’re challenged to pass a bipartisan map by the end of September, obviously that’s not going to happen, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to continue to work, talk, listen to Ohioans, work with the Democratic Party,” Bird told reporters last week.

Democrats have accused Republicans of stalling to eventually be able to pass maps without Democratic support.

"Republicans had many criticisms of our proposal,” Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, said in a statement following last week’s hearing. "I look forward to if and when they introduce a map to see if it can pass any sort of constitutionality requirement. History shows they haven’t been able to do that up to this point."

If the Democrat maps do not pass Tuesday, the Ohio Redistricting Commission gets its chance.

The commission is made up of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, Senate president and House speaker – all Republicans, along with the Senate and House minority leaders.

The constitution also requires maps approved by the commission to have bipartisan support. If it fails, the General Assembly can pass maps with a simple majority, but those must comply with the constitution’s anti-gerrymandering provisions.

Those rules include that no plan can favor or disfavor one political party and districts must resemble voting percentages from the last 10 years in statewide and federal elections.

Republicans hold 10 of the state’s 15 congressional seats, but the state’s constitution mandates that congressional maps match voters' preferences over the last decade.

In the last 10 years, Ohioans have voted 54% for Republicans in federal elections. Based on the state constitution, congressional districts should be split 8-7 in favor of the GOP.