Ohio's Congressional districts -- the ugly gerrymander (Republic: house, lawsuit)

[WRnative]

Is it possible that the notorious Republican gerrymander of Ohio's Congressional districts will be history in time for the 2020 elections? Plaintiffs, including the Ohio League of Women Voters, seek in a federal court case to replace the Republican gerrymander in time for the 2020 Congressional elections.

Most interesting in the following article are two maps comparing a non-gerrymandered Ohio Congressional election map against the current gerrymandered Congressional districts foisted on Ohio by the Republicans for the last decade.

https://www.cleveland.com/politics/2...g-lawsuit.html

It will be disgusting if federal courts find that such gerrymanders, which clearly marginalize non-Republican voters and foist more extremist politicians on Ohio, are Constitutional. Non-gerrymandered districts are much more likely to serve the will of the overall electorate rather than the wishes of politicians. With more honest Congressional district boundaries, voters select their representatives; currently, the politicians select their voters.

[Bo]

Seems unlikely that it would happen that quickly. It'll take the courts a while to reach a decision. If they find in favor of the plaintiffs, it'll take a year or more to produce and implement a redistricting process.

[ferraris]

Another reason I don't think it will happen for 2020 is that they'd have to then be immediately re-drawn for 2022, when we lose a representative in the house based on the census (probably).

[OhioJB]

Democrats gerrymandered districts before Republicans gained power and did the same. Did you complain then?

[Bo]

Originally Posted by OhioJB

Democrats gerrymandered districts before Republicans gained power and did the same. Did you complain then?

Apples and oranges. The technology, polling and predictive analytics have improved greatly in the last 2 decades. Gerrymanders are much more effective now than they were 20 years ago.

That's why they matter more than they used to.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by OhioJB

Democrats gerrymandered districts before Republicans gained power and did the same. Did you complain then?

I've always complained about gerrymanders everywhere. CA eliminated a gerrymander heavily favoring Democrats. I would support a federal Constitutional amendment banning gerrymanders everywhere; we badly need more partisans who actually investigate and pass legislation rather than political extremists most interested in partisan warfare.

Ohio Republicans have said the gerrymander is wrong, and even supported the Constitutional Amendment approved by voters to reduce it greatly beginning in 2022.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-w...orm-initiative

Yet Gov. DeWine is intent on hanging on to the Republican gerrymander for one more election cycle. Disgusting.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by WRnative

Yet Gov. DeWine is intent on hanging on to the Republican gerrymander for one more election cycle. Disgusting.

The brand new governor has a legislative agenda and he wants a Republican legislature that will pass it. It's not "disgusting," it's politics. He just wants the same advantage that the last governor had. Bipartisan cooperation is not in vogue right now, so if he doesn't have a Republican legislature, he knows he's going to get nothing passed.

I'm not in favor of gerrymanders, either, but I understand the politics of the situation.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by Bo

The brand new governor has a legislative agenda and he wants a Republican legislature that will pass it. It's not "disgusting," it's politics. He just wants the same advantage that the last governor had. Bipartisan cooperation is not in vogue right now, so if he doesn't have a Republican legislature, he knows he's going to get nothing passed.

I'm not in favor of gerrymanders, either, but I understand the politics of the situation.

I understand the politics. That doesn't mean that keeping the gerrymander around any longer in order to distort the wishes of the electorate isn't extremely disgusting and condemnable.

BTW, I think the lawsuit only involves Congressional districts, not state legislature seats, but I could be wrong.

[Schmooky]

Each party draws the political map to their advantage when in power during redistricting. This isn’t a Republican thing or a Democrat thing, it’s literally the way the system is created to function with regards to the party in power. This one gets a massive yawn from me.

[WRnative]

https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/in...rong_ohio.html