Republicans to propose legislative district map
Facing a Sept. 15 constitutional deadline, Statehouse Republicans will present their map of Ohio House and Senate districts Thursday, Senate President Matt Huffman said.
House and Senate GOP staff members have worked on a map for Statehouse districts and plan to present it at the Ohio Redistricting Commission on Thursday morning, Huffman told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau.
The commission has two meetings scheduled for Thursday: one at 10 a.m. “to hear testimony on state redistricting plans” and another at 2 p.m. for the commission to vote to introduce a commission map.
“We’ve been working with the House. Our staff has been working with their staff,” Huffman told Gongwer news service on Wednesday. “We’ve been trying to work on something that’s largely acceptable. No version of this is great for everybody.”
Huffman wouldn’t say how the GOP proposal would affect the makeup of the Ohio House and Senate, where Republicans hold a veto-proof majority.
He did say that population changes would effectively move a Senate district from the Cleveland area to Franklin County. Voter-approved revisions to the Ohio Constitution also prevent dividing between 20 and 25 counties, he said.
The seven-member commission includes Republicans Gov. Mike Dewine, Secretary of State Frank Larose, Auditor Keith Faber, House Speaker Bob Cupp and Huffman. The two Democrats on the panel are House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes and Sen. Vernon Sykes.
The panel is tasked with drawing a new map for Ohio’s 99 House and 33 Senate districts. If the panel’s two Democrats don’t approve the map, the panel can approve a map for the next four years with a simple majority. Sept. 15 is the deadline for that map, but commission members haven’t ruled out passing a 10-year map before the deadline.
The commission held 10 public hearings across the state last month to collect public testimony but hadn’t yet released a draft map. The commission missed its first constitutional deadline to present a map by Sept. 1.
Republicans have said U.S. Census Bureau delays in getting the latest population data to the states are to blame for missing the first deadline. Senate Democrats released a pair of maps last week to show it could be done. The maps were later revised after Republicans noted rules weren’t followed to maintain districts for state senators whose terms go through 2024.
Huffman said he met with Sen.
Sykes on Tuesday to discuss the Democrat’s proposal. Some portions of the Democratic and GOP maps look similar, he said.
“Some of the districts are either identical or largely the same,” said Huffman, who will share the GOP map with Democrats on the commission Wednesday evening. “I’m optimistic we can get to a 10-year map.”
House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes said that’s the goal.
“I am pleased to hear that they are willing to share their work with us and I plan to have a discussion on how we can work towards a 10-year map,” said Sykes, who requested a meeting with Republicans last week.
Rules accepted by the commission require the group to hold at least three public hearings across the state to present the proposed plan and seek public input. Those hearings will be Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but locations have not been announced.
Huffman said he expects the Statehouse map will change as Democrats and the public provide sincere feedback.
“It has been difficult to negotiate when you don’t have a product to start from,” Huffman said.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers have until Sept. 30 to approve a map for Ohio’s 15 congressional districts. Huffman said little had been done on that map.
Jackie Borchardt and Jessie Balmert report for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.