Today’s Links
Articles:
Ohio Capital Journal – Public awaits more redistricting work, but new law gives court little leeway to force it
State of Ohio – Redistricting Commission Members
The American Independent – Ohio Justice Pat DeWine won’t recuse himself from gerrymandering cases involving his dad
Princeton Gerrymandering Project – Ohio’s Redistricting Process
Groups Taking Action:
League of Women Voters OH, Fair Districts Ohio, Equal Districts Coalition
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
We have two stories today from Ohio. We’re updating our series of stories about Ohio’s ongoing redistricting fiasco, and in a related story, the refusal of a justice on Ohio’s Supreme Court to recuse himself.
You’ll remember from our earlier reports that Ohio had a referendum to ban gerrymandering and established a seven-member redistricting commission, which includes Governor Mike DeWine, the Secretary of State, the State Auditor and legislators as members. But the commission’s maps were rejected as gerrymandered by the Ohio Supreme Court. Responsibility then bounced to the Ohio General Assembly, which drew its own heavily gerrymandered maps for the state legislature and Congress. Multiple versions of those maps were also rejected by the Ohio Supreme Court as against Ohio’s constitution.
Court appeals continue, but the Ohio Capital Journal reports that the Ohio high court issued a 30-day timeline to the Commission to redraw the maps, and if they don’t, it goes back to the legislature. The Commission has taken no action, and the legislature’s leadership says it intends to do nothing, forcing a stalemate. It’s not clear who will blink first, or what body will have the final say.
As if there wasn’t enough drama, as a member of the Redistricting Commission, Governor Mike DeWine is a defendant in cases before the Ohio Supreme Court, and his son, Pat DeWine, is one of the seven justices. A story this week in the American Independent reports that the younger DeWine has refused to recuse himself from a number of cases involving his father, including . . . redistricting.
Links to articles and groups taking action are at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we HAVE, it’s something we DO.”
For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl