Ohio court rules GOP-drawn congressional maps are 'unduly' favorable to the Republican Party

19 July 2022

Ohio Republicans suffered a setback with the recent court ruling striking down their newly-proposed congressional maps.

According to Business Insider, on Tuesday, July 19, the Ohio Supreme Court delivered a 4-3 ruling to reject the map used in the state's primary election back in May. The court has ruled that the map violates anti-gerrymandering policies prohibited in the state's Constitution. The court also explained why the map was unconstitutional.

"We held that the plan unduly favored the Republican Party and disfavored the Democratic Party in violation of Article XIX, Section 1(C)(3)(a) of the Ohio Constitution," the ruling says.

Speaking to The Columbus Dispatch, Jen Miller, the executive director of Ohio's League of Women Voters, shared her reaction to the court's ruling.

"Clearly, we agree with the Ohio Supreme Court that this second congressional map is gerrymandered beyond a reasonable doubt," said Miller. "It’s our hope that the Ohio mapmakers will heed court orders and deliver congressional districts that truly serve voters."

However, Republicans are not as pleased with the ruling. "The majority clearly has a number of Democrat congressional seats in mind, and any plan that does not result in that number will be deemed unconstitutional and therefore invalid," wrote Republican Justices Sharon Kennedy and Pat DeWine.

Although the latest ruling is a move in the right direction for Democratic lawmakers, The Columbus Dispatch notes that "the now-unconstitutional map will be used to select members of Congress in the November elections."

The latest court ruling in Ohio follows criticism of flawed Republican-drawn Congressional maps in other states. Since the 2020 presidential election, Republican lawmakers in red states across the country have proposed hundreds of pieces of legislation, launching political attacks on Americans' voting rights.

Most of the proposed bills have been criticized because they would subsequently disenfranchise minority voters.

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