It’s been a long and exhausting few months. And now heartbreaking. This morning Gov. DeWine signed Senate Bill 258, the gerrymandered congressional four-year map.

Klik hier to see Substitute Senate Bill 258 on Dave’s Redistricting App.

Klik hier for a PDF of Substitute Senate Bill 258.

It was hard to stomach the statement he made saying he was signing it because it kept cities whole and has “more competitive districts” than the current congressional map — when we know this map to be an egregiously rigged partisan gerrymander. Governor DeWine owes more to the people of Ohio than simply toeing a party line. It’s not wrong to feel angry.

This fight is not over. The rules put in place in 20215 and 2018 need to be enforced through the courts. If they are, we will get maps that are better than we have now.

No matter what, we want to thank you all for your hard work, and your selfless commitment to saving our democracy! Even though the gerrymandered congressional and state legislative maps have been approved, we are incredibly proud of all the work we have done together. Because of Ohio voters, there are new redistricting rules in the Ohio Constitution, and the new rules can and are being used to challenge bad maps in court. This is especially important because the US Supreme Court determined that the federal courts have no role in addressing partisan gerrymandering.

Let’s look back on this year: Because of your support, we were able to organize thousands of Fair Districts advocates. These activists sent more than 50,000 postcards urging mapmakers to craft fair districts that keep communities together. Hundreds of Ohioans testified, attended hearings, and submitted written testimony urging an end to gerrymandering. Your support helped fuel the Fair Districts Mapping Competition in which citizen mapmakers demonstrated voting districts that are much fairer than those passed by the state legislature.

Stay tuned because this is not the end of our effort!

Happy Thanksgiving from Common Cause Ohio!