Ohio Supreme Court strikes down GOP-drawn congressional map

The Ohio Supreme Court has once again struck down a Republican-drawn legislative map for gerrymandering, this time for congressional districts.

Why it matters: Friday's decision invalidates a congressional map approved by Republican lawmakers last November.

• The ruling was 4-3, with Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor — a Republican — siding with the court's three Democrats in finding the map unconstitutional.

State of play: The court found the map "unduly favors" Republican candidates in part by gerrymandering certain counties into separate districts to benefit the GOP.

• Analysis showed the map could have given Republicans up to a 13-2 advantage, or 87% of the seats in play, despite winning 56% of the statewide vote in recent election cycles.

What's next: State lawmakers are ordered to draw a new map.

• The map needs bipartisan support to be in effect for a full 10 years.
• Otherwise, with only support from the Republicans, it will be in place for four years.

The big picture: Ohio Republicans tried, but failed, to achieve state and federal legislative maps that would give their party an advantage in the years to come.

• Checks and balances set up in the 2015 and 2018 redistricting reforms passed by voters prevented this from happening.