DeWine Refuses to Convene Redistricting After Expiration of One-Third of Month

On October 1, Democratic Leaders appealed to Governor DeWine’s sense of duty and leadership to immediately convene the Ohio Redistricting Commission within 7 days so it could meet its constitutional duty to pass a congressional map by October 31. To date, the governor has refused all action and entirely failed to respond to the good-faith outreach.

 “It was disappointing to see Republicans shirk their constitutional duty to even attempt to pass a bipartisan map in the month of September, and it now appears Governor DeWine is taking the same partisan delay approach,” said Senate Democratic Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood). “When Ohio voters approved redistricting reform in 2018, they never could have imagined the majority would act in such bad faith so as to entirely refuse to introduce a map or even participate in the bipartisan process.”

The Ohio Constitution (Article XI, Section 1 (C)) is clear that only the governor may convene the Redistricting Commission. To date, Republicans have refused to introduce a map, while Democrats introduced a proposal that was not afforded an up or down vote.

In 2021, the Commission convened for a single day, literally hours before the constitutional deadline for the body to pass a bipartisan map. During that process, Republicans also refused to put forward a proposal.