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Analysis says only 2
of 16 congressional seats competitive
The Columbus Dispatch...
By Jim Siegel
September 14, 2011
Editor: Note map changes for Darke, Mercer and Preble Counties; also a
possible challenge reported in the Zanesville Times Recorder and WYSO
Radio commentary.
An analysis by the Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting of the
new Republican congressional map found that only two of the 16 new
districts would be considered competitive.
Jim Slagle, manager of the campaign, a coalition of groups including
the League of Women Voters of Ohio and Ohio Citizen Action, said the
new map that Republicans released yesterday creates 68 county
fragments, compared to 44 in the current map, and leaves little
opportunity for competitive general election races.
Using data from four elections: 2008 presidential and the 2010 races
for governor, auditor and secretary of state, the only districts with a
political index within 10 percentage points are the 14th, which
includes all or parts of seven counties in the northeast corner of Ohio
and is represented by Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township,
and the 6th, represented by Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Poland.
The districts have Republican indexes of 54.4 percent and 53.9 percent
respectively.
Read the rest of the article at the Columbus Dispatch
Zanesville Times Recorder...
Experts: Ohio
redistricting map tactic likely wrong
By Andy Brownfield, Associated Press
Sep 23, 2011
COLUMBUS -- A maneuver by state lawmakers that would protect a
Republican-drawn congressional map from the possibility of a repeal by
voters is likely unconstitutional, but it would take the state’s
highest court to answer the question definitively, legal experts said
Thursday.
A spokesman for Gov. John Kasich said the measure likely will be signed
on Monday. Before the Senate sent it to Kasich on Wednesday, a
committee added $2.75 million to the bill to help local boards of
election implement the new map.
Ohio’s Constitution states that bills appropriating money take effect
immediately and are not subject to repeal by voters, which is something
Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern previously had threatened.
Democratic Party spokesman Seth Bringman said all options to fight the
“unfair map” are being considered.
The leader of the Senate committee that made the change said supporters
of the spending amendment didn’t set out to prevent a possible repeal
of the map.
However, legal experts point to Ohio Supreme Court decisions that
indicate that adding appropriations to such measures doesn’t always
mean they can’t be repealed.
“It seems to me that the bottom line is the redistricting plan is
subject to referendum (voter repeal),” said Prof. Daniel Tokaji, an
election law expert at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State
University.
“I would expect in pretty short order litigation to that precise
questions, specifically litigation to force Secretary (of State Jon)
Husted to allow a referendum on the redistricting plan. I’d be really
surprised if that didn’t happen.”
The map has been derided widely Democrats and voter groups who say the
GOP gerrymandered it to protect the Republican majority in Ohio’s
congressional delegation.
Because of slow population growth relative to the rest of the country,
Ohio is dropping from 18 to 16 U.S. House seats, and opponents to the
new map say 12 of those seats will be safe for Republicans.
Read the rest of the article at the Zanesville Times Recorder
Radio commentary from WYSO
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