The Ohio Redistricting Commission plans to meet Thursday, the deadline to draw the latest version of House and Senate district maps.
The commission has been ordered by the Ohio Supreme Court to adopt new state House and Senate district maps that comply with the constitution by Thursday at midnight.
The court ruled the previous plans to be invalid, saying the maps did not follow the anti-gerrymandering requirements put in the constitution by voters in 2015.
Cupp announced late Tuesday that the commission will reconvene Thursday at 1:30pm. But he was not clear on what will happen next.
"We don't have an agenda yet. This is uncharted territory and we are trying to make our way through it," Cupp said.
When asked if Republicans plan to introduce a new set of district maps for Ohio's 99 House and 33 Senate seats, Cupp said he did not know.
"Obviously we know what our job is and what the expectations are and we're trying to find a way to accomplish those things," Cupp said.
House Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) says plans are in the works for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to meet tomorrow afternoon but unclear about what the process will look like from there. @andy_chow is following the story today. pic.twitter.com/WRcES4G5Uf
— "The State Of Ohio" PBS News Program (@stateofohioshow) February 15, 2022
House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said it is concerning that the commission has taken so long to meet and it suggests "intentional stalling."
"It is possible for us to achieve constitutional maps. It is possible for us to get this done before the deadline. There just has to be a willingness to do it," Russo said.
The latest round of state legislative district maps to be rejected by the court created 57 Republican and 42 Democratic districts in the House. In the Senate, those maps split 20 Republican to 13 Democratic seats.
The court ruled those maps do not reflect a proportional split of Ohio voter preference. On average, statewide election results over the last 10 years has seen about 54% of the vote go to a Republican candidate and 46% to a Democratic candidate.
Katy Shanahan, the Ohio state director for All On The Line, an affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said the commission has the ability to take a different approach to make sure the maps are found constitutional this time around.
The commissioners, especially the three statewide elected officials, need to take a more proactive role in the mapmaking process, Shanahan said.
"And not act like they have no ability to influence this process and that they have no authority to speak publicly about what they think is necessary or to push their own colleagues to do better. And I hope that they do so," she said.
The new state legislative district maps must be adopted by the end of Thursday and those maps must be delivered to the supreme court by Friday morning.
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