Ohio Supreme Court strikes down GOP-drawn state House, Senate maps March 22, 2022 3:20 am Photo: Courtesy of the Ohio Supreme Court Justice is supposed to be blind. Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. The problem in Ohio is that the same constitutional amendment that prohibits political gerrymandering vests mapmaking in the sole hands of the General Assembly and the Ohio Redistricting Commission. According to an analysis by Bolts, Ohio was one of four states where the partisan balance of the . Supreme Court of the United States held that partisan-gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond the reach of federal courts, Rucho v. Common Cause, 588 U.S. __, __, 139 S.Ct. While their claim that these illegal maps are the only maps that the federal court can adopt are ridiculous, their filing admits that some court at some point must have authority to step in. The terms of three Ohio Supreme Court justices are expiring on December 31, 2024, or January 1, 2025. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. The court said they have identified a flawed process in all three of its rulings on the legislative maps, plans adopted after being the product of just one political party.. Crime and punishment: A child sexual abuse survivor asked the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday to remove caps on the judgement in her civil lawsuit against her abuser. 3. COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) The Ohio Supreme Court is deliberating over maps that have already been reviewed and rejected by justices two months ago. Perhaps sensing that the Ohio Supreme Court was serious, the Commission on February 25, 2022 belatedly submitted a new plan to the Court. Perhaps sensing that the Ohio Supreme Court was serious, the Commission on. Learn more about the National Security Act of 1947. Chief Justice Maureen. In her decision on legislative lines, Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor suggested the creation of a nonpartisan, independent commission that had no lawmakers. Republican redistricting commissioners argued that Map 3 had to be implemented because its the only plan that would allow elections officials to carry out an August 2 primary. Nationwide polls do not factor in primary cycles, but if they take the temperature of the whole country, former Presiden. Contemplating contempt: The seven members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission have until Monday morning to tell the Ohio Supreme Court why they shouldnt be held in contempt for the way Republicans on the commission passed a fourth legislative redistricting plan earlier this week. American. McCarthyism: The House of Representatives select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is asking House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California to come in for an interview about his communications with former President Donald Trump and ex-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows over GOP efforts to object to results of the 2020 election. However, the court noted: All parties agreed that in statewide partisan elections over the past decade, Republican candidates had won 54 percent of the vote share and Democratic candidates had won 46 percent of the vote share.. Mike DeWine instead of each other. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican member on the redistricting commission has not announced if either date will be changed. The result is that the 54 percent seat share for Republicans is afloor, while the 46 percent share for Democrats is aceiling, the court wrote (italics their own). However, the primary vote begins on April 5, potentially giving administrators little time to send official voting materials out. 0:00 5:51. The Brennan Center for Justice reported earlier this month that 74 cases were filed in 27 states regarding Congressional and legislative district maps as of July 7, with 45 pending . Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Democratic state Sen. Teresa Fedor of Toledo questioned Kerns qualifications and said his appointment was politically motivated, as he replaces a board member who resigned over an anti-racism resolution. . Unfortunately, this one appears to be as problematic as the prior ones, with Republicans still projected to win a disproportionate share of the legislative seats. Dr. Douglas Johnson and Dr. Michael McDonald were down to a consolidated set of maps that they said needed commission input. They violate Ohioans rights under their own Constitution and threaten their rights under the federal Constitution. A majority of the court justices said the map challengers had shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the most recent maps violated the constitution, particularly the provisions prohibiting partisan favoritism. In Ohio's Redistricting Redo, a New Justice and a New Speaker Will Steer the Ship. The opinion further explains that, in a. It also took issue with how the map splits counties containing Cincinnati, Cleveland and Akron to combine urban voters with rural voters "to give Republican candidates a political advantage in all but two of the 15 congressional districts.". In February, Republican Chief Justice Maureen OConnor scheduled a contempt hearing for the five Republicans on the commission, but she put it on hold after they passed a third redistricting plan (later struck down by the court). The order, issued by GOP Chief Justice Maureen OConnor, was a victory for Democrats who challenged the lines as unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Ohio Supreme Court brings contempt back up in redistricting The decision, if upheld, could allow Democrats to shift as many as six G.O.P.-held seats in their direction. The court found that the Ohio Redistricting Commission drew districts in a way that mightmay not representthe preferences ofvoters statewide. The first two rounds of map drawing were rejected after the court found that Republican . The pair of 4-3 rulings are a victory for anti-gerrymandering groups and Democrats, who were poised to lose two congressional districts and remain mired in the state legislative minority under the enacted maps. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. The second number is the percentage of races won. 5. Instead, the Manifesto further inflamed anti-royal sentiment in Paris. Legal arguments in the case centered on whether it was OK for a powerful new redistricting commission, comprised of four lawmakers and three statewide officials, to disregard constitutional language passed overwhelmingly by Ohio voters about avoiding partisan favoritism in maps for 99 Ohio House and 33 Ohio Senate districts. That primary, which has yet to be scheduled by the legislature, would be for Ohio House and Ohio Senate races. This article was prepared for publication by Katherine Gemmingen, Commentary Co-Managing Editor. An NRCC spokesman told the publication it raised nearly $2 million when it gave donors a book by Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw, and expects to raise $300,000 while promoting Jordans book. The breakdown of votes matched previous votes by the court striking down maps, with Chief Justice Maureen OConnor, Justice Michael Donnelly, Justice Melody Stewart and Justice Jennifer Brunner forming the majority opinion. He also reported receiving somewhere between $10,000 and $24,999 as a member of the Delaware County Board of Elections, as well as somewhere between $1,000 and $9,999 as a member of the Board of Voting Machine Examiners. The Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday threw out redrawn Ohio House (left) and Senate maps passed by the Ohio Redistricting Commission and gave the commission 10 days to submit a new map that doesn't violate state anti-gerrymandering rules. Lake Of The Ozarks Boat Crash. With these new maps, the court agreed with arguments made by anti-gerrymandering groups who said a disproportionate number of so-called Democratic-leaning districts were actually toss-ups, with less than a 1% advantage for the Democrats. Nothing in the constitution requires the seven commissioners to sit down together to draft the plan effectively handing each one of them an unbridled veto power, Kennedy and DeWine wrote in their dissent. Once they are seated, this new bench could hear cases on . Ohio Police Dog Attack. Republicans on Ohio Redistricting Commission approve slightly revised A lawsuit against the GOP-drawn maps was filed by the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the A. Philip Randolph Institute of Ohio, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and individual voters. He owned shares of CSX Corp., Fifth Third Bank, General Dynamics, Kansas City Southern Railroad, Morgan Stanley and Cleveland-Cliffs stock, as well as a 401K, a public employees retirement account, and a deferred compensation mutual fund. To the extent the Ohio Constitution both requires the Ohio Supreme Court to create a redistricting impasse and prohibits it from correcting it, a credible violation of the federal Constitution can be imagined. The court sent the job back to the commission with a March 28 deadline to file an entirely new district plan for the General Assembly with the Ohio Secretary of States Office. Supreme Court directs Ohio's top court to take another look at Twice the Redistricting Commission, or at least the Republican majority that controls the Commission, has failed. Suggested citation: Mark R. Brown, US Constitution Requires Ohio Supreme Court to Resolve Redistricting Stalemate, JURIST Academic Commentary, March 2, 2022, https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2022/03/mark-brown-ohio-redistricting-stalemate/. The Capital Journal combines Ohio state government coverage with incisive investigative journalism, reporting on the consequences of policy, political insight and principled commentary. Pelzer has four takeaways from the debate, the Associated Press Mark Gillispie reports, the March 24, 2022, financial disclosure form, replaces a board member who resigned over an anti-racism resolution. Aaron Navarro is a digital reporter covering politics. As Tobias reports, U.S. District Judge John Adams granted a stay requested by state Attorney General Dave Yost, who argued the court should wait for the Ohio Supreme Court to rule on two separate sets of redistricting lawsuits challenging the maps. The court's timeline is likely to cause headaches for candidates, since the state has an upcoming February 2 deadline and a May primary. North Carolina judges recently upheld Republican-drawn Congressional lines. But it would allow the legislature to repeal orders in all public health emergencies, such as Ebola, Hancock reports. The federal lawsuit argues the Republican-drawn maps are racially discriminatory, while the state lawsuits argue they violate the states anti-gerrymandering rules. Faced with an approaching violation of the Fourteenth Amendment should Ohio reach a stalemate, the Ohio Supreme Court would, as a matter of federal law, have the same authority as a federal court to rule that Ohios no court restriction is unconstitutional, at least in the context of a true redistricting impasse that threatens Ohios compliance with one-person-one-vote. The redistricting efforts were a legislative response to a 2015 Ohio constitutional amendment designed to encourage bipartisanship. 50% Off Unlimited Digital Access. Ohio Supreme Court orders redrawing of GOP-friendly map In Ohio's Redistricting Redo, a New Justice and a New Speaker Will Unfortunately, this one appears to be as problematic as the prior ones, with Republicans still projected to win a disproportionate share of the legislative seats. The Capital Journal combines Ohio state government coverage with incisive investigative journalism, reporting on the consequences of policy, political insight and principled commentary. The evidence shows that the individuals who controlled the map-drawing process exercised that control with the overriding intent to maintain as much of an advantage as possible for members of their political party, according to the ruling. In a separate announcement, the court also denied requests to hold commissioners in contempt of court for violating court orders.