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Though they are still working on the state budget, and an unusually important August special election is rapidly approaching, Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman is looking ahead to lawmakers' return to work on redistricting for Statehouse maps. Huffman told the Ohio Capital Journal he thought that might happen in September.
Ohio's Supreme Court declared both the U.S. Congressional district and Statehouse maps drawn up in 2022 to be unconstitutional, and the Ohio Redistricting Commission threw up its hands and refused to do its job. Among reasons they seemed to want to delay the work was the impending retirement of former Ohio Supreme Court Republican Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, who was forced out due to her age, in December.
She had them pegged, and for them, she was a problem.
Regarding the Statehouse maps, it will be up to Gov. Mike DeWine to call the Ohio Redistricting Commission back to work. It is made up of a majority of Republican leaders, including DeWine, Auditor of State Keith Faber and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, as well as a Republican and Democrat from each chamber of the legislature. One can't help but wonder whether upcoming campaigns for 2024 races will affect decisions by some in that group.
O'Connor has repeatedly called for anti-gerrymandering reform in Ohio. Without any action on that front, Ohio residents are left to depend upon lawmakers and those on the Redistricting Commission to do their jobs properly. It is a shame we've not been given much reason to hope that will be the case.