Ohio ACLU Files Lawsuit Against The State Over Current Boundary Lines For Congressional Districts

Voters approved an overhaul of the way Ohio’s Congressional district map will be drawn in the future. But a lawsuit has been filed in federal court against the current map, which opponents say is a result of partisan gerrymandering. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio’s Freda Levenson says there’s good reason why her group is challenging the map that was drawn in 2011 now, even though voters overwhelmingly approved a new redistricting process going forward.“Ballot Issue 1 won’t take effect until after the next census and until a new map is drawn in 2021 and elections occur in the 2022 election cycle," Levenson said.Levenson says Ohio has one of the most egregiously gerrymandered maps in the country. She says there have been recent developments in case law that give the ACLU the opportunity to bring this suit forward now. The ACLU of Ohio raised concerns about Issue 1 earlier this month, saying it wouldn’t do enough to stop gerrymandering. Copyright 2018 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.