Clock ticks on Ohio redistricting as GOP eyes new map
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
The battle over congressional redistricting in Ohio turned into a soap opera earlier this week.
Why it matters: Congressional redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries used to elect Ohioans to the U.S. House of Representatives starting in 2026.
- If there is gerrymandering, when politicians manipulate boundaries to favor their party, that will impact whether voters' preferences are heard in future elections.
Catch up quick: Ohio's current map disproportionately favors Republicans, who hold 10 out of 15 seats (66%), despite receiving about 56% of the vote in 2022.
- Republicans are reportedly eyeing new maps with 12 or 13 seats by moving voters in the Akron-based district represented by Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes to GOP districts in Northeast Ohio represented by Reps. Dave Joyce and Max Miller.
- Lawmakers held a meeting Tuesday morning where Republicans declined to present their proposal.
What's next: The onus now falls on the Republican-controlled Ohio Redistricting Commission, which has until Oct. 31 to pass a bipartisan map.
- If the commission can't deliver a bipartisan map, things head back to the General Assembly, which can pass a partisan map with a simple majority vote by Nov. 30.
Flashback: If you're feeling déjà vu, it's because we were here not too long ago.
- Ohio normally redraws its districts every 10 years, following the release of census data, to better reflect the state's current population.
- But officials must do so early because the current map, enacted in 2022, lacked the bipartisan support our state constitution requires.
- Maps with bipartisan support remain the full 10 years, while those without only last four years.
Reality check: Voters reformed Ohio's redistricting system in 2015 and 2018 in hopes of transparency and compromise.
- But Republicans control the legislature, redistricting commission and Ohio Supreme Court, which rules on map constitutionality.
- If there's another deadlock, it's possible an unconstitutional, gerrymandered map could move forward again anyway like in 2022 — because otherwise, elections could be delayed.
What we're watching: An anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment failed last November, and there hasn't yet been a push for another.