Equal Districts Coalition Condemns Republican Commissioners' Tactics After Expensive, Low-Turnout Primary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2022
Contact:
Rachel Coyle, coyle@innovationohio.org
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 after Ohio saw record low turnout for its $20 million statewide primary election on August 2nd:
“Let us be clear. This week, Ohio was forced to hold an expensive second primary election, because Mike DeWine, Frank LaRose, and other Republican officials actively refused to follow state law.
“The Republican commissioners did not care how many taxpayer dollars they wasted. They did not care how few Ohioans got a chance to vote. Their one and only goal was to rig the districts to help their party win elections.
“Ohio’s Republican-led Redistricting Commission repeatedly ignored voter-approved deadlines for drawing legal maps. They stalled long enough to force Ohioans to endure another year of illegal districts, rigged to give Republicans more seats in government than they've earned in votes.
“The DeWine-LaRose delay tactics also forced Ohio to spend unnecessary taxpayer money on a second primary. The second primary, held this week, cost taxpayers an extra $20 million. A record low 7.9% of Ohioans participated.
“According to Axios Columbus, so few Ohioans voted in Tuesday’s election that taxpayers spent nearly $32 on every single vote cast. Per Cleveland.com, Tuesday’s voter turnout was the lowest since at least the 1960s.
“Ohioans need to know exactly who helped rig our state’s district maps:
Governor Mike DeWine (R)
Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R)
State Auditor Keith Faber (R)
Senate President Matt Huffman1 (R)
House Speaker Bob Cupp (R)
Senator Rob McColley (R)
State Rep Jeff LaRe (R)
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Sharon Kennedy (R)
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Dewine, who is Mike DeWine’s son (R)
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer (R)
“Our coalition will never give in to this brazen power grab. We will continue naming these Republican villains and fighting back until Ohio voters receive the fair, constitutional districts they demanded.”
####
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, Ohio Farmers Union, AFSCME Ohio Council 8, the Ohio Environmental Council, OFUPAC, 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.
