Equal Districts Coalition Comments After Oral Arguments Heard in Congressional Redistricting Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 28, 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 redistricting process — released the following statement expressing hope that the Ohio Supreme Court will rule in favor of a fair congressional map:

“This morning, our state Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a rigged district map that would hand Ohio Republicans far more seats in Congress than they have earned in votes.

“If the map truly adhered to the laws Ohioans voted for, Republicans would end up with about 55% of Ohio’s seats in Congress, reflecting the average statewide vote over the past decade. Instead, this absurdly gerrymandered map would give Republicans at least 80% of Ohio’s congressional seats. This is a blatant, offensive rejection of the voters’ demands.

“It is also troubling that Justice Pat DeWine has again failed to recuse himself from a case directly involving his father, Governor Mike DeWine. Governor DeWine personally signed the heavily gerrymandered map into law, giving his own political party a clear, unearned advantage in future elections. Despite this obvious conflict of interest, the governor’s son still intends to rule on his father’s interests.

“Chief Justice O’Connor was right to point out that the people of Ohio overruled our 2011 map by voting overwhelmingly for the 2018 reform measure, which was geared directly at banning partisan gerrymandering. We are hopeful that the majority of Ohio’s Supreme Court will deliver justice for voters by overruling the 2021 map as an even more gerrymandered one.

"Two branches of Ohio’s government have purposefully refused to uphold the law — we urge the third to hold them accountable.”

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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.