Top Ohio Republicans are taking their congressional map fight to the Supreme Court.
Republican leaders announced an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes it will reverse their state court woes and enable them to cement the map for future elections. Ohio’s Supreme Court previously deemed the state’s map unconstitutional on at least two occasions — most recently in July — but it remains in effect for the midterm elections.
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“While many believe that the Ohio Supreme Court majority misinterpreted state law, there is also the broader concern that the court assumed a role the federal constitution does not permit it to exercise,” state Senate President Matt Huffman, state Speaker Bob Cupp and two other Republicans said in a statement, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Ohio Republicans have long been at odds with the state Supreme Court over redistricting. Although the state’s high court has a conservative majority, Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor has shown a penchant for bucking the party. She is expected to retire after the midterm cycle due to age limits.
Over the course of several months, Ohio’s Republican-led Redistricting Commission crafted multiple GOP-friendly maps which were shot down by the high court.
Eventually, the clock ran out as primary races neared. Ohio delayed its primary date for state legislative races due to an impasse on apportionment. But a panel of federal judges intervened in the congressional map melee and selected a Republican proposal to be used in the 2022 midterm cycle.
Huffman argued that the Ohio state Supreme Court has overstepped its mandate and shown heavy-handedness with its rulings requiring lawmakers to pass “legislation in effect based on what they say needs to be in it.” Meanwhile, the high court has argued the maps defied state constitutional provisions on proportionality and partisan advantages.
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The current map is expected to give Republicans a 13-2 apportionment advantage, according to Dave Wasserman, a national elections analyst for the Cook Political Report. This is up from their current 12-4 edge in Ohio’s congressional seat count. The state lost a seat due to the latest census.
The U.S. Supreme Court is mulling a redistricting challenge in Alabama as well as one in North Carolina. It is unclear whether it will take up the Ohio case as well.
