It looks like any map following the new rules will make a blue district in SWO.

I understand why people want to avoid splitting up city boundaries, but that rule kinda creates a weird situation around Columbus. If, by 2020, Columbus doesn't surpass the average population for a congressional district, it'll all be drawn into one weird zig-zaggy district along the border of the city of Columbus. I think it would make more sense to split the metro more evenly (thus splitting the city since the city of Columbus is so sprawling and encompasses such a huge portion of its metro area). Fingers crossed that Columbus's rapid growth continues so that it surpasses the population of the average congressional district by 2020. 

 

But regardless, the maps under the new rules are clearly improvements over what we are currently stuck with. 

I have a question:

 

I thought Ohio gerrymandering was voted down by the voters for both Ohio state districts and US Congressional districts the past couple elections?

 

Is it over? Is the fight really not over? I thought that they were going to be at lease SOMEWHAT more fairly drawn in 2021 or something.

 

I'm pretty dumb about the order of events and what's yet to come. Is there a good summary post I'm missing or can someone help me out? Thank you so much!

The districts will be redrawn after the 2020 census results come out. I believe that means approval in 2021 and using them for 2022 elections (at least the general). It remains to be seen how helpful the new laws will be, but there are reasons to be skeptical.

 

If there isn't bipartisan agreement on the new districts, the majority in the legislature can pass a map that's valid for 4-years instead of 10-years. Some would predict that this will become the new normal: redistricting every 4 years.

But there is an active lawsuit to try to get the districts redrawn prior to the 2021 redistricting. 

^Looks like our new governor is making a last ditch effort to dismiss the lawsuit, which is set to go to trial March 4th:

 

Gov.-elect Mike DeWine files motion to dismiss Ohio gerrymandering lawsuit

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohio Gov.-elect Mike DeWine, in his final days as the state attorney general, filed a motion this week in an attempt to toss out a gerrymandering lawsuit - a suit that aims to force the redrawing of Ohio’s 16 congressional districts in time for the 2020 election.

 

In an unusual twist of circumstances, one of the defendants DeWine filed the motion on behalf of is Ohio Secretary of Jon Husted, DeWine’s running mate who will become lieutenant governor next week when DeWine becomes governor.

 

Read More...

 

Trial is underway now. https://www.cleveland.com/open/2019/03/ohio-gerrymandering-trial-kicks-off.html

Here is how to fix GOP gerrymandering that helps them steal elections

 

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/03/fix-gop-gerrymandering-helps-steal-elections/

 

So does this mean that the districts will be redrawn for 2020 using the new procedure that voters passed a few years back?

More about this from https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190503/court-rules-ohios-congressional-map-unconstitutional

 

Quote

A federal court has ruled that Ohio’s congressional map as drawn by ruling Republicans is unconstitutional and has ordered a new one drawn for the 2020 elections.

 

The ruling gives the GOP-dominated Ohio General Assembly until June 14 to draw lines for the 2020 election that will meet the court’s approval.  The ruling is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

A three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati ruled unanimously Friday that district boundaries were manipulated for partisan gain by Republican mapmakers and violate voters’ rights to democratically select their representatives.  The ruling blocks Ohio from holding another election under the current map.

 

Voting rights groups filed the lawsuit over the 2012 lines, contending Republicans illegally manipulated the drawing of district lines to pack Democrats into a few districts while Republicans emerged with large advantages in others stacked with likely GOP voters.  Democrats now hold only four of the state’s 16 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

^^ Either yes, or the court will do it for them. Assuming the Supreme Court doesn’t overturn the ruling. 

Edited May 3, 20196 yr by Boomerang_Brian

I wasn't sure when the new (supposedly non-partisan) rules for drawing maps goes into effect. Under normal circumstances we wouldn't be drawing a new map until 2021, so that was going to be the first time that the new system would be used. I assume that when the ballot measure was passed, the rules went into effect immediately, so our first test of that system will actually be two years earlier than planned, in 2019...assuming, as you said, that (1.) the US Supreme Court doesn't overturn this ruling, or (2.) the Ohio Legislature refuses to redraw the maps so the courts do it for them.

Didn't SCOTUS literally just hear the Maryland and North Carolina cases packed into one? The ruling is supposed to come out in June. 

23 minutes ago, taestell said:

I wasn't sure when the new (supposedly non-partisan) rules for drawing maps goes into effect. Under normal circumstances we wouldn't be drawing a new map until 2021, so that was going to be the first time that the new system would be used. I assume that when the ballot measure was passed, the rules went into effect immediately, so our first test of that system will actually be two years earlier than planned, in 2019...assuming, as you said, that (1.) the US Supreme Court doesn't overturn this ruling, or (2.) the Ohio Legislature refuses to redraw the maps so the courts do it for them.

 

The ACLU actually submitted a revised map as part of the suit. Not sure if the court would just order that map be used if the state can't come up with something in time. In PA the court drew the map itself when the governor and legislature couldn't come up with one in time. 

Doesn't matter. The case is going to be appealed all the way to the Republican-dominated Supreme Court which will toss it. Our democracy has died and the Republican States of America won't permit its return. So here's an interesting angle....

 

 

AND

 

Edited May 6, 20196 yr by KJP

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190509/federal-judges-deny-stay-to-state-in-gerrymandering-case

 

Quote

A three-judge federal court panel on Thursday rejected the state’s request for a stay of an order to draw a new congressional map by June 14 to replace the unconstitutional map crafted by ruling Republicans and in use since 2012.

 

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, had asked the court to stay its order by Friday, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule by June 30 on gerrymandering cases that could uphold Ohio’s map as legal or set out new standards that could make efforts to quickly redesign the 2012 map moot.

 

Yost called the ruling “expected,” adding in a statement, “The State is entitled to appellate review of the invented legal standard in the trial court’s decision and will ask the Supreme Court to stay the decision pending its ruling on similar cases already before it.”

 

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190510/state-asks-us-supreme-court-to-delay-gerrymandering-order

 

Quote

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to stay a federal-court ruling instructing the General Assembly to draw a new congressional map by June 14.

 

A three-judge panel in Cincinnati ruled one week ago today that the map was unconstitutionally gerrymandered to entrench Republican power and disadvantage Democrats.

 

Yost asked the justices to set aside the ruling of the judges — who refused on Thursday to stay their own order — pending the resolution of the state’s appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

I'm very interested to see the new map they come up with and the process & logic behind the choice for the new boundaries. Hope we'll see a new map soon. I'm pretty confident that the redrawn map would lead to at least one new Democrat-safe district (Cincinnati), but possibly as many as 3 more Democrat-safe/lean districts in addition to that (Akron area, West Cuyahoga County/Lorain County, and northern Franklin County/Delaware County). 

The timeline seems reckless. Any effort to draft a new map should wait until the June 30 Supreme Court ruling. At that point, if a new map is still needed, adequate time should be provided. These efforts take months when they are known and prepared for. Trying to do it in weeks with no preparation ahead of time is sloppy and irresponsible.

There already exist plenty of good maps that were drawn by algorithms to make the districts reasonable. Just pick one off a shelf. They only take months when you need to find ways to gerrymander the districts. Computers can make relatively fair districts instantly.

13 hours ago, Ram23 said:

The timeline seems reckless. Any effort to draft a new map should wait until the June 30 Supreme Court ruling. At that point, if a new map is still needed, adequate time should be provided. These efforts take months when they are known and prepared for. Trying to do it in weeks with no preparation ahead of time is sloppy and irresponsible.

 

Yea, this is a very bad and partisan take. You know that it only takes a few seconds for a computer to generate thousands of viable options. If you're only trying to draw a compact map that keeps communities intact then you can literally do this in seconds. If you're trying to manipulate the results and please party leaders and elected officials then, yes, it could take a long time. But the point of this is that they don't want that to happen. Pennsylvania's Supreme Court only took a few weeks to release their new map after the governor and legislature couldn't come up with one. 

On top of the fact that the reason the due date is so soon is because R state legislatures everywhere just re-draw a map that isn't acceptable and send it in just before the deadline and continually re-do that process of getting denied and having that pushed back until the SCOTUS decides to force their hand.

13 hours ago, Ram23 said:

The timeline seems reckless. Any effort to draft a new map should wait until the June 30 Supreme Court ruling. At that point, if a new map is still needed, adequate time should be provided. These efforts take months when they are known and prepared for. Trying to do it in weeks with no preparation ahead of time is sloppy and irresponsible.

 

What's reckless is drawing a district  from Lorain to Indiana to Columbus, covering hundreds of miles and taking away representation from the people, all to elect a guy like Jim Jordan.   

 

Maps are easy.   Trump-Russian lapdogs are problematic.  

SCOTUS ?

 

Supreme Court blocks gerrymandering rulings in Michigan and Ohio

By STEVEN SHEPARD

05/24/2019 03:36 PM EDT

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/24/supreme-court-blocks-gerrymandering-michigan-ohio-1344369

Today's 5-4 SCOTUS decision on gerrymandering in North Carolina and Maryland has this effect of Ohio:

 

https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190627/ohio-congressional-districts-will-remain-until-2022-after-supreme-court-ruling

 

Quote

In a 5-4 ruling Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court declared federal courts shouldn’t be deciding any congressional redistricting cases, meaning Ohio will keep its current districts until 2022. ... Though the ruling dealt specifically with gerrymanders in Maryland and North Carolina, it also means Ohioans will have to wait until 2022 for new congressional maps under a redistricting process approved by voters in 2018.

 

Democracy slowly slips away

Ohio featured prominently.

 

Oh, you clever little Tilda...

A couple Ohio districts here, with the 9th topping this list 

 

A gerrymandering dirty dozen: What experts see as the House’s worst districts

 

https://thefulcrum.us/most-gerrymandered-districts?rebelltitem=13#rebelltitem13

On 8/1/2019 at 9:38 PM, DarkandStormy said:

Ohio featured prominently.

 

I just came across this today (and glad you already posted this haha), I was just showing my brother (he's in PA) Jim Jordan's district as well as the 'snake on the lake' as an example of how screwed up things are. Pennsylvania recently redrew their districts with their (democratically controlled) Supreme Court, despite it being very similar to Ohio w/GOP control outside of cities - he wondered why we couldn't 'stack' the court like PA did during elections.

 

Also, WKSU had a good piece on Jim Jordan's district: https://www.wksu.org/post/how-did-ohios-most-liberal-city-end-its-most-conservative-congressman

42 minutes ago, GISguy said:

he wondered why we couldn't 'stack' the court like PA did during elections.

 

We gotta win those elections. Current makeup is 5R-2D but we have a chance to make it 4D-3R in the 2020 election. Dems should do everything possible to get out the vote for these seats. That includes picking candidates with Irish surnames. 

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/09/most-baffling-map-ohios-midterm-election/1931633002/

3 minutes ago, DEPACincy said:

 

We gotta win those elections. Current makeup is 5R-2D but we have a chance to make it 4D-3R in the 2020 election. Dems should do everything possible to get out the vote for these seats. That includes picking candidates with Irish surnames. 

 

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/09/most-baffling-map-ohios-midterm-election/1931633002/

Agreed, it was a huge push to get a dem majority court in PA and they let the big cities know it (I want to say a lot of the judges were from either Philly or PGH). I was living in PGH at the time and they had a roadshow going and again, made it known. I feel like that was around spring of the election year? Hopefully the state dems realize this is a huge opportunity.

Edited November 22, 20195 yr by GISguy

5 minutes ago, GISguy said:

Agreed, it was a huge push to get a dem majority court in PA and they let the big cities know it (I want to say a lot of the judges were from either Philly or PGH). I was living in PGH at the time and they had a roadshow going and again, made it known. I feel like that was around spring of the election year? Hopefully the state dems realize this is a huge opportunity.

 

Former Philly resident myself ?

 

EDIT TO ADD: The PA in my username stands for Pennsylvania.

Edited November 22, 20195 yr by DEPACincy

^Ah, I see. I thought DEPA might have been a small department at UC that I didn't know about ?

11 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

^Ah, I see. I thought DEPA might have been a small department at UC that I didn't know about ?

 

It's the knock-off DAAP ?

Four dudes with a two-chair office in Crosley Tower sharing one computer

37 minutes ago, GCrites80s said:

^Ah, I see. I thought DEPA might have been a small department at UC that I didn't know about ?

 

?

Came across this proposed redistricting map of Illinois (they're likely to lose one seat after the final census count).

 

1 and 4 are around R+40.  The rest are somewhere between D+12 and D+30.

 

It's....beautiful lol

 

Pass this map and I bet you see the GOP suddenly come out against partisan gerrymandering.

If the state doesn't have anti-gerrymandering laws, they should absolutely do it. The only way there is going to be a national push to get rid of gerrymandering is it both sides do it so both sides get fired up about wanting to eliminate it.

Ohio's House districts didn't change once over the last decade - a 12 R / 4D split every election.  R's get 75% of the seats while getting ~52-54% of the vote.  Same old story.  They also built on their super majorities in the state legislature, so I have little hope for the new Ohio Redistricting Commission based on the parameters that were set up.

2 hours ago, DarkandStormy said:

Ohio's House districts didn't change once over the last decade - a 12 R / 4D split every election.  R's get 75% of the seats while getting ~52-54% of the vote.  Same old story.  They also built on their super majorities in the state legislature, so I have little hope for the new Ohio Redistricting Commission based on the parameters that were set up.

It may not change much in 2022 but will likely make a couple more seats competitive. I would bet by 2028, you will have more like an 9/6 R to D split (assuming Ohio loses another seat)

On 11/11/2020 at 10:04 AM, DarkandStormy said:

Pass this map and I bet you see the GOP suddenly come out against partisan gerrymandering.

 

21 hours ago, taestell said:

The only way there is going to be a national push to get rid of gerrymandering is it both sides do it so both sides get fired up about wanting to eliminate it.

Both sides do it but because Republicans got a head start, they now control more state legislatures, and thus have way more districts gerrymandered to their favor. It's unlikely that Dems will ever catch up. It's going to have to be a state-by-state ballot initiative reform effort.

 

What if - and hear me out - we just let the minority party draw the maps for every redistricting process?

This would be illegal under the reform passed in 2018. Only 5 counties can be split into 2 districts in the upcoming redistricting. It looks like Dave split Cuyahoga and Franklin into three (Maybe four in Franklin, can't really tell).

Edited March 3, 20214 yr by Metz44
More Info

We are supposed to get census data September 30 because of delays associated with the pandemic and worries that the Trump administration's efforts were.... less than adequate.

 

Deadlines Looming For Drawing Ohio's New Maps For Lawmakers

 

The amendment passed in 2018 sets up a series of deadlines for state lawmakers to approve Congressional maps, with the final deadline being November 30. The amendment passed in 2015 requires state lawmakers’ districts done by September 1, though if they can't get support from the minority party the deadline is September 15.

 

So Turcer sees two options – ask the Supreme Court to extend the deadlines or move next year’s May 3 primary: “And I suspect you might need to have both.”

With Ohio losing another seat, this is an option....