As we write this, Sunday’s (3/27/22)  marathon sessions of the Ohio Redistricting Commission have not yet concluded. It’s been a very slow and frustrating process—and so far the public has not had an official opportunity to weigh in, even though WE KNOW how important public input is to the process, and the Commissioners know it too. 

During Saturday’s Ohio Redistricting Commission hearing, three Commissioners talked about the importance of community interests. Auditor Faber pointed out that, “there may be other community factors that I think it’s also proper for us to consider, things that we heard in close to 80 hours of testimony before this commission that could change the dynamic.” Leader Russo concurred, and even President Huffman agreed. 

The problem is, the independent mapmakers selected by the Commission to draw Ohio House and Senate maps are from Kalifornien Und Florida. They don’t know the landscape and local character of our Ohio communities, and the ways these communities do not always align with the given boundaries of municipalities or townships. Without local knowledge, it becomes very easy to draw a line inappropriately regardless of intention. 

That’s where you come in. Each of the two mappers have shared two sets of draft Ohio House and Senate maps. You can view them HIER. (And here are tips for how to Zoom in closer when looking at maps in Dave’s Redistricting App.) There are some significant differences between the drafts. For example, one pairs Montgomery County with Green, the other pairs it with Preble. Your opinion and perspective is very valuable.  

Please take a look at these draft maps! If there are lines that you believe have been drawn in the wrong place, let the Commission know by emailing them at info@redistricting.ohio.gov. You can also write to each Commission member—contact information provided below. Let them know which version of the map you prefer for your area, and what changes need to be made. AND, we hope that by early Monday there will be a unified draft House and Senate maps from the two mappers—we will upload those to the same link as soon as we have them.

Don’t forget, you can watch the mappers at work via the Ohio-Kanal Live Stream: There is a Workroom livestream and then the possibility of three separate computer screen views, each streaming only when the computers are in use. You can find those at ohiochannel.org. 

Watch Monday’s 10:00 am hearing with us on our Redistricting Commission. Watch Party (Register HIER) or follow along on the Ohio-Kanal. 

Commissioner Contact Information:

• House Minority Leader Allison Russo, rep24@ohiohouse.gov, 614-466-8012
• Senator Vernon Sykes, sykes@ohiosenate.gov, 614-466-7041
• Senate President Matt Huffman, huffman@ohiosenate.gov, 614-466-7584
• Speaker Bob Cupp, rep04@ohiohouse.gov, 614-446-9624
• Secretary of State Frank LaRose, FLaRose@ohiosos.gov, 614-466-2585
• Governor Mike DeWine, Laurel.Dawson@governor.ohio.gov, 614-644-4357 
• Auditor Keith Faber, contactus@ohioauditor.gov, 614-466-4514