Rehashing Redistricting

Republican lawmakers who want to pass a bill to change the way the state’s Congressional map is drawn are continuing to negotiate behind closed doors with opponents of their plan to come up with a compromise. Sponsors of the lawmakers’ Congressional redistricting reform want to get buy in from Democrats and some citizens’ groups.  Secretary of State Jon Husted, who has suggested the plan involve a bipartisan process and keep counties intact, says he’s cautiously optimistic that there will be a resolution because the parties agree, in principle. “They can’t trust each other…..there’s a trust deficit in these negotiation right now. Everybody wants to add a few more words, a few more things that they view as guardrails on that process that creates uncertainty and distrust among each other.”Lawmakers need to pass it before the February 7^th filing deadline for the May ballot. The citizens’ groups say they’ll continue to collecting signatures to put that issue on the November ballot if a compromise can’t be reached. Copyright 2018 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.