Ohio's Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled the state's current congressional map was unconstitutionally gerrymandered and "unduly favors" Republicans, ordering it be redrawn before the 2024 elections.
The court ruled 4-3 the state's most recent map of congressional districts, which will still be used in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections, is "invalid in its entirety," adding, it "unduly favors the Republican Party and unduly disfavors the Democratic Party in violation of" the anti-gerrymandering provision of the Ohio Constitution.
State legislators now have 30 days to draw a new map or the Ohio Redistricting Commission will be given 30 days to select a new map.
The Ohio Supreme Court previously rejected the initial version on the map on the same grounds.
According to the court majority, the current map "creates just three seats with Democratic vote shares over 52% (and one of those is at 52.15%). By contrast, all the Republican-leaning seats comfortably favor Republican candidates."
It also "contained districts in Ohio's three largest metropolitan areas that were shaped not by neutral political geography but by an effort to 'pack' and 'crack' Democratic voters — resulting in more districts in which Republican candidates were strongly favored or at least competitive."
The court minority wrote, "This court's misguided rush to decide these cases has resulted in an unnecessary and truncated procedure that has effectively tied this court's hands and rendered it unable to make a fully informed decision."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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