Commission can’t agree on who draws maps
Ohio redistricting set to miss its first deadline
How close is the Ohio Redistricting Commission to approving a map for state House and Senate districts that the public can weigh in on? Not very.
In fact, they can’t even agree on who should hold the pen.
House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-akron, says the seven-member commission must draw and present a map together – not separately as Republicans and Democrats or House and Senate staffs.
“Is this a commission map by the majority party? Is it just by the legislative leaders? Is it the Republican legislative leaders and what can I expect in terms of participating in that, if anything at all?” Sykes asked co-chairs, House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-lima, and Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-akron.
Cupp said the commission’s role is to accept premade maps from lawmakers’ staffs, good government groups and the public. The commission will pick one of those maps that meets constitutional muster for Ohioans to weigh in on, he said.
“The useful way and the anticipated way for most members is that maps would be presented either by the caucuses or outside groups and so forth,” Cupp said. “Those are pretty much underway.”
The commission-backed map must receive three public hearings on separate days and in different cities so Ohioans can provide feedback, according to rules adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission Tuesday. The commission could revise the map based on public input.
Legislative staff in both GOP caucuses and Senate Democrats are already working on proposed maps behind closed doors. Senate Democrats offered their proposed map Tuesday, in part to
show that it can be done.
The Senate Democrats’ map would create 54 Republican districts and 45 Democratic districts in the Ohio House, which currently has 64 Republicans and 35 Democratic seats in the House. The Senate breakdown in the proposal is 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats compared to the current 25-8 split with Republicans controlling the chamber.
“Although our maps are just a start, my hope is that they will help initiate discussions between members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission and allow us to move forward in the process of creating fair legislative districts,” Vernon Sykes said.
Senate President Matt Huffman, Rlima, already had some criticism of the Senate Democrats’ proposed map, saying it doesn’t take into account where incumbent senators live as required by the Ohio Constitution.
The Ohio Constitution says senators who are not up for election in 2022 must represent the new district that has the largest portion of the population of their former district. Senate Democrats say their map doesn’t violate that rule.
Ohio Redistricting Commission to miss first deadline
The commission is expected to miss its first deadline to adopt a map no later than Wednesday.
Much of that is not their fault. Mapmakers received population data needed to draw lines from the U.S. Census several months late because the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the count.
There is no penalty for missing the Sept. 1 deadline. The seven-member commission could still approve a 10year map by the final deadline, Sept. 15, with support from four members and the group’s two Democrats.
The commission, which includes five Republicans and two Democrats, could approve a map that lasts only four years with a simple majority and no support from the minority party.
Deadlines aren’t as important as transparency and public input, said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, which pushed for redistricting reform via two constitutional amendments.
“It is not the end of the world if they miss the deadline,” Turcer said. “It is a problem if they don’t lay out a plan and address public concerns about a secretive process.”
Ohio Secretary of State Frank Larose, a redistricting commission member, said a 10-year map should be everyone’s goal.
“What lies at the very heart of Ohio’s new process is a spirit of bipartisan cooperation,” said Larose, who worked on the new rules with then-sen. Matt Huffman and then-rep. Vernon Sykes in 2014. “Compromise isn’t a failure. It’s how statesmen and women solve problems in democracy.”
Bureau chief Jackie Borchardt contributed.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.