Judges refuse request to delay gerrymandering trial

CINCINNATI >> A three-judge panel in Cincinnati has denied a request by Ohio to delay a federal lawsuit that seeks the redrawing of congressional district lines ahead of the 2020 election.

Friday’s ruling says there are time concerns in deciding a lawsuit filed last May by the Ohio League of Women Voters and others because changes to the map must be completed this September.

The trial is scheduled to begin before the panel of U.S. District Court judges March 4.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit argue the current map violates voters’ constitutional rights and has resulted in 12 predictably Republican districts and only four predictably Democratic districts in Ohio.

Ohio sought to delay the trial until after the U.S. Supreme Court decides gerrymandering cases from Maryland and North Carolina.