Group sues over Ohio’s new congressional map

A national COLUMBUS — Democratic group run by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sued on Monday, seeking to throw out Ohio’s new congressional map just two days after Gov. Mike DeWine signed it into law.

The lawsuit from the National Redistricting Action Fund, an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the map violates rules in Ohio’s Constitution that bar congressional maps passed without bipartisan support from “unduly” benefiting a political party or its incumbents.

The map is expected to favor Republicans to win about 12 of Ohio’s 15 seats, with one of the three Democratic seats a close toss-up.

The current map has allowed Republicans to hold 12 of Ohio’s 16 seats for a decade, and is widely considered to be a pro-GOP gerrymander.

The map, approved by Republican state lawmakers last week and signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine on Saturday, is the first under Ohio’s new redistricting rules. Voters overwhelmingly approved the new rules, designed to promote transparency and bipartisanship while limiting how communities can be split, via a state ballot issue in 2018 as an anti-gerrymandering reform.

“In enacting the 2021 Congressional Plan, the General Assembly — and Governor DeWine — seek to turn the clock back to before 2018, when it had free rein to gerrymander maps as it wished,” the lawsuit reads. “However, the legal regime has changed, and the Court should not countenance the General Assembly’s and the Governor’s attempt to flout the wishes of Ohio voters.”

The lawsuit was filed late Monday with the Ohio Supreme Court, which will decide whether the new map unduly favors Republicans. Republicans hold a 4-3 majority on the court, with Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor widely perceived as a swing vote.