A coalition of voter rights advocates is criticizing the maps for House and Senate districtsintroduced by the Ohio Redistricting Commission. An analysis by the group says the district lines retain a Republican supermajority.
The group, Fair Districts Ohio, says the House and Senate district maps drawn by Republicans would create a two-thirds majority for the party in both chambers, with few to no competitive races.
University of Cincinnati Associate Professor David Niven said the mapmakers did not meet several standards created by voter-approved reforms in 2015.
"Did they even try? Because this is a map that fails every academic test of gerrymandering. This map is almost the definition of gerrymandering," Niven said..
Republican leaders in the House and Senate say they didn't know the partisan breakdown of their maps before introducing them, a claim Democratic leaders call "disingenuous."
A 10-year review of statewide election results shows votes split about 54% Republican and 46% Democratic.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission will have three hearings before possibly making changes to the map.
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