Ohio Redistricting Commission Ignores Constitution, Fails to Meet 9/1 Deadline
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2021
Contact:
Rachel Coyle, 419-351-5844, coyle@innovationohio.org
Katy Shanahan, 614-372-6980, shanahan@redistrictingaction.org
COLUMBUS — Today, the Equal Districts Coalition — a unified group of nearly 30 Ohio advocacy organizations and unions engaged in the 2021 redistricting process — condemned the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s failure to meet the constitutional deadline of releasing a proposed map and hosting public input hearings by September 1, 2021.
“Ohioans made their voices clear with their votes: they want a bipartisan commission to follow the new laws and implement a fair and transparent redistricting process. September 1st is not just some casual deadline — It’s a constitutional requirement. The Republican-dominated commission has no legitimate excuse for ignoring it,” said Desiree Tims, President and CEO of Innovation Ohio.
Republican Commission members cite the census delay as reason for not having met their constitutional deadline. However, the fact that the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus, the citizen-led Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission (OCRC), and several Ohioans (using the Commission’s public submission portal) were all able to draft and present maps by the deadline illustrates that it was, indeed, possible to have complied.
“For months now the OCRC has modeled an open, transparent, and inclusive process for the state’s official redistricting commission to follow. We uplifted the voices of all Ohioans throughout the state, especially Black, brown, and immigrant Ohioans. We could no longer wait for our elected leaders to convene the commission, so we went ahead and did it ourselves. We are proud to present two fair and ideal district maps of Ohio based on collective input submitted by hundreds of everyday Ohioans who felt empowered to participate in the redistricting process,” said Jeniece Brock, OCRC vice-chair and Policy and Advocacy Director for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.
Coalition members also expressed deep concern at the discovery that Republican commission members have been drafting maps in secret. House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, one of only two Democrats on the Republican-dominated commission, repeatedly asked her fellow commissioners at yesterday’s public meeting when she would be permitted to view their maps.
The majority party members acknowledged that maps are being drafted behind closed doors, but would give no timeline as to when the minority party’s commissioners — or members of the public — would see them.
“Fair maps come from a fair process — we cannot get one without the other. Unfortunately, the Republicans are dragging their feet and refusing to host the transparent, people-powered redistricting process that Ohioans demanded and that our Constitution requires. It should appall everyone that Republican commissioners openly admitted to drawing maps behind closed doors — just like they did in 2011,” said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director for All On The Line.
Majority party members drawing maps in secret stands in direct opposition to the intent of the citizen-passed laws surrounding Ohio’s new redistricting commission. The Equal Districts Coalition demands that any maps being developed by commission members and/or their staff be made available to all other commission members immediately.
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The Equal Districts Coalition includes the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, OAPSE/AFSCME, AFSCME Ohio Council 8, the Ohio Environmental Council, Innovation Ohio, the Ohio Student Association, ProgressOhio, All On the Line-Ohio, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Ohio Council of Churches, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, URGE – Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, LEAD Ohio, the Ohio Women’s Alliance, the Ohio Federation of Teachers, Ohio Education Association, CAIR-Ohio, Campus Vote Project, For Our Future Ohio, Ohio Unity Coalition, Equality Ohio, The Freedom Bloc, and more.