COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Redistricting Commission is facing a Monday deadline to have new district maps on the desk of Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
The commission is back at the drawing board for the fourth time after the Ohio Supreme Court struck down three earlier sets of maps, saying they favored the Republican Party. Independent mapmakers worked late into Saturday night to try to finalize the new maps.
Last month, the ACLU and its clients, including the League of Women Voters of Ohio, filed a case arguing the commission failed to come up with a fair and constitutional map. The group is taking a step back because of the tight deadline, but their executive director told 10TV they're not giving up.
"Given that the primary is upon us, and the Ohio General Assembly is the only body that can set a new election date, and they said they're not going to... we knew we didn't have time to litigate an entirely new case before the Supreme Court fighting congressional gerrymandering for congressional districts, but we're not stopping," said Jen Miller, executive director for the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
The group filed a new case to get a "fair map" by 2024. Miller said she's optimistic.
"The redistricting commission itself has been meeting more regularly, and I think we're going to get two Ohio State Senate and two Ohio House maps that really work for the people, and I'm really excited about that," she said.
A panel of federal judges has asked to intervene to save the upcoming election. The Secretary of State must decide whether that violates any state or federal laws. The deadline for that is also Monday.
The deadline to register to vote is April 4. Early voting starts on April 5.