Add another state to the list… *sigh*

What The Hell is Happening in Ohio?

Let’s recap Ohio’s long redistricting saga… Ohio Republicans passed their first iteration of new congressional districts last November. That map was then invalidated by the Ohio Supreme Court for violating the state constitution’s rules against partisan gerrymandering. Republicans went back and passed a second iteration in March and this map was used for the state’s recent primary elections on May 3.

This week, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down that second map for violating the state constitution yet again, forcing Republicans to pass a third iteration within 30 days.

Too Late for 2022

Even though the map shown above was struck down by the state Supreme Court for partisan gerrymandering, the dreaded Purcell principle leads courts away from intervening in ongoing elections. That means that even though the map used in the May 3 primaries is straight up illegal, voters will still vote within these districts this November.

Make no mistake, this is incredibly fucked up. It gets even worse when you dive into the arguments Ohio Republicans are making to defend their blatantly illegal actions…

“The majority requires that the share of winning districts for each party should match the proportion of the popular vote for each party in a particular group of previous elections… But there is nothing in Article XIX that establishes proportionality as an aspirational goal, much less a requirement.”

-Dissent written by Justices Sharon Kennedy and Pat DeWine (son of current Gov. Mike DeWine, who sits on the redistricting panel… 👀)

You read that right, Republicans are arguing against basic tenets of American democracy because the state’s constitution doesn’t spell it out for the idiots in the room. They’re openly fighting for the ability to hold a majority of seats without a majority of voters’ support and they’re willing to defy their state’s constitution in order to do so. In the most basic terms, Republicans believe that winning 50% of the state’s vote should not entitle a party to 50% of a state’s House seats.

*cue the Jackie Chan WTF?!? gif*

So What’s Next?

It’s all but guaranteed at this point that Ohio Republicans will sweep up more House seats than they’re owed this November as voters will be forced to vote in districts designed to favor the GOP. Also, expect Ohio’s redistricting drama to continue. The court ruling punts the map drawing process back to Ohio Republicans yet again and they show no signs of complying with the law. And then the process will start all over again in 2025 since Republicans passed each map with a simple majority vote.