COLUMBUS, Ohio — On Friday morning, the ACLU of Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Covington & Burling LLP filed a motion for explanation with the Ohio Supreme Court, requesting that the Ohio Redistricting Commission explain their failure to comply with the Court’s February 7 order, which directed the Commission to submit a revised plan for Ohio’s legislative districts.
The ACLU and others request that the Commissioners file their response by Tuesday, February 22 at 9:00 a.m. The objections were filed on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and several individuals.
“The majority commissioners delayed until the last minute, and then brazenly refused to comply with the Ohio Supreme Court’s order to produce a new plan. We are calling for the court to require them to answer for their defiance,” noted Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio.
According to the motion: “In the last two months, this Court invalidated the two plans enacted by the Commission on the basis that those plans failed to comply with Article XI, Sections 6(A) and 6(B) of the Ohio Constitution…In the ten days following that February 7 order, no Republican Commissioner submitted any General Assembly plan for the Commission’s consideration. Moreover, the Commission did not even convene until the afternoon of February 17 – the Court-ordered deadline to enact a plan.”
“Once again, we look to Ohio’s highest court to uphold up the Ohio Constitution and the rights of Ohio voters,” said Jen Miller, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. “Our goal is quite simple: ensuring that the people of Ohio have Senate and House districts that serve them, not the short-sighted interests of political operatives. The good news is that such maps already exist – the mapmakers just need to find the political courage to put voters first and adopt them.”
“The Ohio Redistricting Commission had a third chance to make right by Ohio voters and they failed, again. The deliberate disregard for the Ohio Constitution is absolutely atrocious. We return to court, asking that the Commissioners explain their total and complete disobedience,” said Andre Washington, president of the Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute.
The groups ask the Ohio Supreme Court for the opportunity to respond to the Commission’s explanation for noncompliance by 9am on February 25, 2022.
Read the motion below.
