Federal court declares Ohio Congress card unconstitutional and must be redrawn

A federal court ruled Friday that the Ohio Congress card was intentionally created "to disadvantage Democratic voters and to seat Republican representatives in power" and needed to be redrawn before the 2020 elections.

The three-judge panel of the US District Court in Cincinnati unanimously said the congressional map was "intentional and effective" in creating an unconstitutional gerrymandering of supporters that created extreme Republican party bias.

"They designed the 2012 map with the help of software that allowed them to predict party-driven results that they drew according to various partisan clues created from historical data on the elections in Ohio, "said the judges in their 300-page decision.

Aaron Josefczyk / Reuters, FILE

Several advocacy groups, including the ACLU and the League of Women Voters, filed a lawsuit against Ohio in 2018. The court ruled, in agreement with these groups, that the Congress card of 2011 redesigned by the Republicans was "one of the most incredible gerrymanders of recent history. "

At present, Republicans control 12 of the state's 16 congressional districts, while the state tightly re-elects a Democratic senator, Sherrod Brown, while he was closely electing a Republican governor, Mike DeWine, in 2018.

The judges also ruled that the Ohio card conferred a Republican advantage on every election and that it helped maintain a 12-to-4 advantage for Republicans in the state congressional delegation. .

It is likely that this decision will be appealed to the US Supreme Court, which is currently considering cases of arbitrary defamation in two states: Maryland and North Carolina, political experts said.

A group of three judges made a similar decision this month in Michigan, which threw out congressional cards and state legislation, declaring them unconstitutional as gerrymander. Michigan courts have asked state lawmakers to redesign some districts by 2020.

However, the implications of a new congressional map vary between the two states.

"In Ohio, it's more clear that if there was a new map, the Democrats would benefit," said Kyle Kodnik, a political scientist at the University of Virginia and editor at Crystal Ball. , by Larry Sabato.

John Minchillo / AP

In the mid-term elections of 2018, the Democrats managed to secure enough congressional seats across the country to win back the majority in the House of Representatives. However, the so-called "blue wave" of the Democrats did not go to Ohio because they were unable to win new seats in that state.

"The Democrats have not been able to sit at an isolated seat, which tells us how gop is a gerrymandering," Kodnik said. "A 12-4 Republican card is not what you would call a fair card by any reasonable standard."

However, all current Democratic seats in the state would not be sure if maps were redrawn according to Kodnik.

"The district of Tim Ryan, in northeastern Ohio, is Republican and, if redrawn, it could quickly become a vibrant district," said Kodnik.

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The 2020 presidential candidate and Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan called the decision a "big win" for the state and called for an end to the "undemocratic practice" of the state. partisan gerrymandering.

"These unjust cards perpetuate a cycle in which districts are put at the service of those in power," Ryan said. "Ohio voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around."

Ohio lawmakers were charged with developing a new district map by June 14, 2019. However, if the state is not able to fix this delay or create a plan that is not "constitutionally acceptable", the courts will take care of the process.