As fights about Congressional redistricting boil over in Texas and California, advocates in Ohio are readying their defenses against districts yet to be drawn by the GOP-majority legislature.
The broad-based, left-lean Equal Districts Coalition will join forces again, it announced Thursday, with members that range from religious leaders to abortion rights and environmental activists.
Ohio was already due for a mid-decade redraw of its Congressional map because of 2018 reforms to law, but now, the state is another one national Republicans are eyeing for more friendly seats. Democrats could lose as many as three of their five seats in the state, a worst-case map for them.
Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, said the Equal Districts Coalition—which was active the last two redistricting cycles—wants the politicians in charge of the process to prioritize “fairness.”
“It can be really hard to figure out what’s fair. What’s fair in the eyes of the beholder?” Turcer said in an interview Thursday.
She believes it’s the legislature taking communities, rather than voting statistics, into consideration. “We should be looking to see, ‘Wait a second. Am I in the same district as my school district?’” she said.
If Equal Districts believes this fall’s redraw is not fair, its members will look at different avenues to fight the map, including getting a referendum before voters.
“It’s going to take a lot of canvassing, making sure that voters understand clearly what the stakes are,” said Darren Raymond, Ohio Student Association member.
The Ohio Constitution requires 60% of state lawmakers to pass a redistricting plan by the end of next month. If they fail to do that, the Ohio Redistricting Commission will take over. The commission, which would include seven politicians and skew heavily Republican, faces a final deadline in November.
“I’ve not had really any recent conversations with either of the leaders,” Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday. “I’m sure I will in the future. I’ve been focused on a few other things.”
Last November, voters rejected Issue 1, which would have thrown out the current redistricting system by installing an independent commission instead. DeWine fought Issue 1, pointing to Iowa’s redistricting process as a better alternative. Iowa long ago put its nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, similar to the Ohio Legislative Services Commission, in charge, though politicians have final say.
DeWine said in June that belief hadn’t changed, though lawmakers haven’t hinted at any reform efforts.
