(5-27-22) The Democratic nominee for Ohio attorney general, 15th District State Representative Jeffrey Crossman (D), has filed a criminal complaint against the five Republican members (Gov. Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Auditor Keith Faber, Senate President Matt Huffman and House Speaker Bob Cupp) of the state’s redistricting commission on Thursday.
May 25, 2022 – League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Committee
Slip Opinion No. 2022-Ohio-1727
Crossman filed the complaint after the Ohio Supreme Court, for the fifth time, rejected another redistricting map plan submitted by the committee.
The 5-2 Republican-majority of the Ohio Redistricting Commission has until the morning of June 3 to pass new maps that would meet constitutional requirement.
Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who voted with the three Democrats in the majority, wrote the following –
…the federal court provided the Republican commission members not only a roadmap of how to avoid discharging their duties but also a green light to further delay these proceedings by stating its intention to implement ‘Map 3,’ all the while acknowledging that this court had declared Map 3 to be invalid and unconstitutional..
Having witnessed the ways in which constitutional reforms may be frustrated by hyper-partisanship and the power of inertia, Ohioans have the power to change those dynamics, That opportunity must not be squandered.”
Justice Sharon Kennedy, one of the three Republican dissenters and a candidate for chief justice in November –
“This redistricting process was highjacked by a majority of this court — a majority that chose to ignore this court’s constitutional role, unmoor itself from the plain language of the Ohio Constitution, and name itself the final arbiter of electoral fairness, including how Democratic-leaning a legislative seat must be to be chalked up as a Democratic win, even though that is not a requirement of [the constitution’s] Article XI,”
Federal judges will possibly decide this weekend the next step that would incorporate an August 2nd primary and using the current maps already in place.
Mercer County Outlook 