Redistricting Ohio – 2021

Website: U.S. Census Bureau
Website: Fair Districts Ohio
Website: Common Cause Ohio
Website: Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC)
Website: The Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission (OCRC)

Lawsuits Have Been Filed
Due To Continued GOP Gerrymandering

On September 24, 2021, a second lawsuit – this one backed by former Attorney General Eric Holder’s National Redistricting Action Fund – will challenge Ohio’s recently approved four-year Statehouse maps.

“These Ohio maps are a failure in almost every way,” said Holder, who served as U.S. attorney general under former President Barack Obama. “They fail to reflect the will of Ohio voters and, ultimately, fail to meet the requirements of the state constitution.”

The move comes one day after the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and several voting rights groups filed a lawsuit in the Ohio Supreme Court, the court tasked with reviewing maps.

To read entire article, please visit here.
To read lawsuit, please visit here.

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On September 23, 2021, the ACLU of Ohio, League of Women Voters-Ohio, A. Philip Randolph Institute and several Ohioans filed a legal challenge over the Ohio Republican gerrymandered state districts. The Ohio Redistricting Commission approved the maps last week in a five Republican to two Democratic party-line vote, ignoring the constitutional reforms passed overwhelmingly by Ohio voters TWICE in 2015 and 2018 by more than 70% of the voters. The maps lock in Republican veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly – possibly for the next ten years.

Read the news release here.
Read the lawsuit here.

Who Are The Groups Involved in Redistricting?

Several groups are involved with the redistricting project –
from providing data to hosting educational programs so we can be informed citizens.
Visit each group’s website for the latest information, webinars or other events.

Census2020
The Census2020 provides the data of
apportionment results to all states for
their use to redraw Congressional and
state districts beginning in 2021.

Census Bureau Statement on Redistricting Data Timeline

The “Historical Apportionment Data Map” currently
displays apportionment results for each census
from 1910 to 2010.

The 2020 Census apportionment results
will be added to the map as they become available.
The Census Bureau plans to release
apportionment counts by April 30.
Dates have been delayed – see information below.

Visit map here.

The Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition
is committed to reining in partisan gerrymandering.
We seek fair state legislative and
congressional maps that keep communities
together because we believe that
all elections should be fair and meaningful.

Common Cause Ohio
has been a leading voice for
government accountability for five decades.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC)
The Ohio Redistricting Commission was created
by an amendment to the Ohio Constitution,
which was approved by 71% of Ohio voters in November 2015.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission is comprised of seven members:

  • One individual appointed by the Senate President
    • Senate President Matt Huffman (R)
  • One individual appointed by the Speaker of the House
    • Speaker of the House Robert Cupp (R) – Co-Chair
  • One individual appointed by the Senate Minority Leader
    • Appointee: Senator Vernon Sykes(D) – Co-Chair
  • One individual appointed by the House Minority Leader
    • Appointee: House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D)
  • The Governor
    • Governor Mike DeWine (R)
  • The Auditor
    • Auditor of State Keith Faber (R)
  • The Secretary of State
    • Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R)

The Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (OCRC)
is an independent, non-artisan commission made up of
15 volunteer members. Commission members will include
academics, political party officials, community representatives,
and others from across the state.
The commission’s activities include:
hosting public hearings for community input,
collecting publicly available data for mapmaking,
and supporting public education on redistricting.

The OCRC website has info you need about:

Members of the OCRC:

  • Barbara Sykes, former state representative, Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OBLC) Foundation President & CEO
  • Tom Roberts, former state senator, President of the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP
  • Andre Washington, President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) Ohio Chapter, Vice Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party
  • Katy Shanahan, All On The Line Ohio State Director
  • Kathleen Clyde, former state representative (OCRC Co-Chair)
  • Greg Moore, Promise of Democracy Foundation (OCRC Co-Chair)
  • Jeniece Brock, Health Scientist Policy & Advocacy Director for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OCRC Secretary)
  • Sam Gresham, Chair of Common Cause Ohio
  • Akii Butler, Ohio Student Association
  • Dr. Richard Gunther, Retired professor
  • Chris Tavenor, Ohio Environmental Council
  • Dr. Lis Regula, Professor and LGBTQ activist
  • Jeremy Blake, Newark City Council member, Equality Ohio board member
  • Dr. Ellen Greene Bush, Clinical Psychologist
  • Alan Bannister, Ohio political professional, former Ohio statewide political director for Joe Biden
  • Amina Barhumi, Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR-Ohio

Commission members are selected through an application or referral process. There is no requirement for existing familiarity with redistricting. We desire a wide range of background knowledge on the topic. Additional members may be appointed to the current commission.

For events scheduled to keep Ohioans informed
about the redistricting process,
please visit one of the above websites.

Public Meetings

Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) public meetings schedule.

August 23, 2021 | 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Cleveland State University
Cleveland, OH 44115
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, visit here.

August 23, 2021 | 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH 44555
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 24, 2021 | 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Sinclair Community College
Dayton, OH 45402
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 24, 2021 | 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH 45206
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 25, 2021 | 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Ohio University – Zanesville
Zanesville, OH 43701
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 25, 2021 | 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Rio Grande Community College
Rio Grande, OH 45674
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 26, 2021 | 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Ohio State University – Lima
Lima, OH 45804
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 26, 2021 | 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Toledo Lucas County Public Library – Main Branch
Toledo, OH 43604
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 27, 2021 | 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM
University of Akron
1200 Mill Street
Quaker Station, Ballroom
Akron, OH 44308
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

August 27, 2021 | 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Ohio State University – Mansfield
1760 University Drive
Riedl Hall, Room 151
Mansfield, OH 44906
To view hearing on ohiochannel.org, view here.

Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (OCRC)
To view videos of past hearings, please visit here.|


Timeline for Redistricting Ohio

Ohio can’t draw new congressional map until 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled federal courts shouldn’t play a role in fixing partisan gerrymandering. Gerrymandering will now be in the hands of Ohio’s legislators through 2021. If an agreement cannot be reached, then the Ohio Redistricting Commission will play a role. And if all fails, the fate of redistricting will ultimately be in the hands of the Ohio Supreme Court. Right now, the Ohio Supreme Court is made of four Republicans and three Democrats.

December 31, 2020 – DELAYED
Received by President Joe Biden – April 26, 2021
Census Bureau, by law, delivers apportionment counts
to the U.S. President

April 1, 2021 – DELAYED
Rescheduled to September 30, 2021
Census Bureau will send redistricting counts
to each state. These counts will be used  to redraw
state legislative districts based on population changes.
In Ohio, state legislature is required to propose a
new district map, conduct public hearings and vote.
If the is bipartisan – supported by at least half of the
members in each party – new districts go into effect
for a 10-year period beginning in 2022.

Deadlines for adopting redistricting plans for
State Legislative and Congressional Districts
DELAYED – New dates posted below

The first deadline to adopt a redistricting plan is September 1st for state legislative districts – which was not met and extended to September 15th. The Republicans released their maps – which had no input from the Democratic members – in the early morning of September 16th at 12:01am. Congressional districts are due September 30th for Congressional districts.

For Congressional district lines, an impasse would result in the commission attempting to adopt a bipartisan plan by October 31st. If the commission can’t adopt a plan, the General Assembly gets a shot at it, with a deadline of November 30th.

Mapmaking in 2021:
Community Mapping and Mapmaking
with DistrictR Tutorial
WATCH: YouTube
Here is an opportunity to learn about
community mapping and also a tutorial on District R,
public software developed by MGGG Redistricting Lab,
a research group at Tufts University.
Common Cause Ohio will lead the discussion about
the benefits of community mapping and
then provide a demonstration of the software.