Equal Districts Coalition Holds People's Hearing Outside Ohio Statehouse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2021


Contact:
Katy Shanahan, 614-372-6980, shanahan@redistrictingaction.org
Rachel Coyle, 419-351-5844, coyle@innovationohio.org

Photos from yesterday's event can be found here.

COLUMBUS — Yesterday, the Equal Districts Coalition — a unified group of 30+ Ohio advocacy organizations and unions engaged in redistricting — held a People's Hearing outside the Statehouse to demand fair maps and an open, transparent congressional redistricting process.

"Ohio's Constitution is not a suggestion. It's the law. There is no excuse for repeatedly missing constitutional map deadlines," said Desiree Tims, President and CEO of Innovation Ohio. "Because they're ignoring deadlines, we can assume the Republican-led redistricting commission is drawing maps in secret behind closed doors. That is cheating. Stop cheating us."

Ohio's Republican-dominated legislature failed to meet the September 30th constitutionally-mandated deadline for congressional maps. Now, the Republican-dominated redistricting commission is poised to miss the October 31st deadline. Coalition partners, legislators, and Ohio voters rallied yesterday to demand better.

"This has become far more than an issue of partisan fighting between Democrats and Republicans. This has become the people of Ohio versus people who abuse their positions of power," said Maria Bruno, Public Policy Director at Equality Ohio. "We shouldn't be here. We should be in hearings with the redistricting commission, saying this to their faces, rather than hoping they might read an article about it later."

The Equal Districts Coalition is the largest redistricting coalition in Ohio, with over 30 member organizations. Coalition members are focused on a wide variety of issue advocacy areas, all of which are impacted by gerrymandered district maps and the resulting extremist legislation.

"We're here because we care. We care about our communities and the people who live in them, whose diversity makes them richer. We care about the issues — whether it's fighting for a better environment, for honesty in education, for access to abortion care and reproductive healthcare, for a better government, for a better economic future, for more inclusion of and protection for our communities, and for our right to vote and our democracy...we're here because we want to build a future that works for and serves all of us," said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director at All On The Line.

The Equal Districts Coalition is working hard to engage all Ohioans in the redistricting process. One of their main goals is to activate new and diverse communities that are traditionally left out of the map-drawing process.

"Let's be clear. no matter which party or neighborhood you belong to, you deserve adequate political representation. Without it, it's nearly impossible for minority communities — like the split Muslim community living around the largest mosque in Columbus — to advance issues that matter to them and affect their daily lives," said Whitney Siddiqi, Community Affairs Director at CAIR-Ohio.

The Republican-dominated redistricting commission and legislature have claimed that they cannot meet constitutional deadlines due to time constraints. However, this notion has been repeatedly debunked by organizations like the volunteer-led Ohio Citizens' Redistricting Commission (OCRC). The OCRC has modeled an open, transparent redistricting process for the past several months, and met all constitutional deadlines for proposed district maps.

"Since April of this year, we've had over 1,000 submitted maps. That means people like my mother — who work 12 hour shifts, 6 days a week — got off work and figured out how to use a tool online to draw where their church was, where their grocery store was, where their community was...and they put these maps out on time, according to the Constitution. So I stand here wondering: why are the people in this Statehouse not able to do the same?" asked Prentiss Haney, Co-Executive Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, which co-sponsored the OCRC.

"We're not here to ask for much, just that we stop being cheated. We're asking for congressional maps that reflect Ohio's partisan balance, allow for pathways to real representation for communities of color, and keep our communities together. We want fair maps," said Kobie Christian, Communications Director at For Our Future Ohio.

The Equal Districts coalition will also hold several virtual People's Hearings throughout the remainder of October. Ohioans are encouraged to attend to make their voices heard.

Photos from yesterday's event can be found here.
 

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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.

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