Sykes Responds to Question About State Legislative Map

Today, state Senator Vernon Sykes (D-Akron), co-chair of the Ohio Redistricting Commission, issued the following statement in response to Senate President Matt Huffman’s (R-Lima) assertion regarding the state legislative map presented by the Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus during today’s hearing: “Article 11, Section 5 of the Ohio Constitution determines the district assignment for incumbent senators whose terms are unexpired. It does so automatically by assigning members to the district containing the greatest population from their current district. In case of conflict between two senators, this determination is made by the commission. We believe our plan contains no such conflict and fully complies with the Ohio Constitution. I look forward to continuing to receive more input about our map and other maps from commissioners and the public. “Right now, our concern is to draw fair maps with fair lines. I expect incumbent assignment conflicts to be addressed before the final plan is adopted by the commission.”