Equal Districts Coalition Condemns DeWine's Decision to Sign Rigged Maps
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2021
Contact:
Katy Shanahan, 614-372-6980, shanahan@redistrictingaction.org
Rachel Coyle, 419-351-5844, coyle@innovationohio.org
COLUMBUS — TODAY, the Equal Districts Coalition — a group of over 30 Ohio advocacy organizations and labor unions engaged in the 2021 redistricting process — condemned Governor DeWine’s decision to sign the heavily gerrymandered congressional district map passed by the Republican Statehouse supermajority.
"Once again, Governor DeWine has failed to stand up to the extremists in his party. He could have rejected gerrymandered maps, but chose weakness instead," said Desiree Tims, President and CEO of Innovation Ohio. "These rigged districts will lead to more extreme politicians who pass dangerous laws that devastate Ohio communities.”
The governor’s veto could potentially have stopped the maps altogether, because a veto override was not certain. Four House Republicans had already joined Democrats to oppose the maps, and others are often uncomfortable overriding their own party’s governor. This is therefore the second time Governor DeWine has chosen to allow his party’s most extreme members to draw unfair district maps.
“This is now the second time in as many months that Governor DeWine found himself in a position of incredible power to have done the right thing to stand up for our democracy by opposing an egregiously gerrymandered map,” said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director of All On The Line. “Unfortunately, he has yet again sided with his fellow Republicans in their mission to preserve their own political power at the direct cost of diluting our voices and pre-determining the outcome of our elections before a single ballot has been cast."
Over the past two days, thousands of Ohioans have contacted Governor DeWine’s office, asking that he veto the Republican-drawn congressional map. The map clearly does not adhere to the promises DeWine made in 2018, when he told the Cincinnati Enquirer that “the rules are pretty clear — the voters said that the redistricting process should be done in a bipartisan way. When I am governor, there will be an expectation that the new district maps honor the voters’ wishes.”
Governor DeWine chose to ignore Ohioans’ calls, emails, and tweets — as well as his own words — and signed off on the rigged map this afternoon.
“Regardless of our skin color or zip code, everybody deserves to have a meaningful influence on our political process and choosing who gets to represent us,” said Jeniece Brock, Policy and Advocacy Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. “By cracking and packing communities of color, this congressional map dilutes the power and voices of Black and brown Ohioans. This map also shows a blatant disregard for the Ohioans who voted in huge margins to support congressional redistricting reform in 2018. Voters sent a clear message that we wanted adequate representation and a fair process and, unfortunately, our state’s leadership has failed us.”
Statehouse Republicans introduced and passed Ohio’s new map in just a few days. It was crafted behind closed doors, without input from the minority party or the public. The map will give Republicans 80% - 87% of Ohio’s congressional seats, despite the fact that Republicans only win about 55% of Ohio’s statewide vote.
Throughout the past year, the Equal Districts Coalition has been calling for legislative and congressional district maps that keep communities together, empower communities of color, and reflect how Ohioans vote. Using these standards, a fair congressional map would break down to eight Republican seats and seven Democratic seats in Congress. The Republican-passed map, however, will hand Republicans an outlandish 12 or 13 seats in Congress.
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The Equal Districts Coalition is the largest redistricting coalition in Ohio, with over 30 member organizations. It 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.