Ohio Sued Again Over Congressional Map
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court of Ohio challenging the state’s new congressional map for being an extreme partisan gerrymander benefitting the Republican Party. The complaint, filed by the ACLU on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, A. Philip Randolph Institute of Ohio and several individuals, argues that the new map violates the ban on partisan gerrymandering passed by voters via state constitutional amendment in 2018.
After rebuffing calls by state Democrats to pass a fair map, Republican lawmakers in the Ohio General Assembly passed the challenged map without any bipartisan support. The lawsuit claims that the new map “safely allocates 67% of the total congressional seats (10 of 15) to the Republican Party for the next four years, despite their predicted 55% share of the vote.” The plaintiffs also allege that map unfairly splits up various suburban and urban counties “that are unnecessary for any purpose other than to minimize the efficacy of Democratic votes.” The suit asks the Ohio Supreme Court to declare the new congressional map invalid, prevent any election from being held under this map and order the creation of new fair congressional districts.