Columbus, OH (1888PressRelease) September 08, 2011 - This Sunday an Ohio redistricting competition, which allows private citizens to draw new congressional districts using the same census and election data as the public officials are using, will come to a close. Winning maps will be announced on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Ohio Legislature, which has the legal responsibility to establish new congressional districts, has held a series of hearings across the state, but has not released any maps. This past Tuesday, the Ohio House State Government and Elections Committee, chaired by Rep. Matt Huffman (4th Dist.-R), held a hearing on proposed congressional districts. The only map presented at the hearing was one generated by the citizen's competition.
The competition is sponsored by the Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting, which is a coalition of 25 organizations who are seeking a nonpartisan redistricting process. The Midwest Democracy Network, League of Women Voters of Ohio, and Ohio Citizen Action are leading the coalition. 30 congressional maps have been submitted to the competition, with additional maps expected before Sunday's deadline.
Additional legislative hearings are scheduled for Sept. 13 and 14 in Columbus. Winning maps generated by the competition will be presented to the House Committee at that time. The redistricting plans are being scored using a mathematical formula to evaluate the different plans based on nonpartisan criteria and will be available on line at www.drawthelineohio.org.
Ohio has also been a pioneer in redistricting reform by launching a competition in 2009 (in cooperation with the Secretary of State, League of Women Voters, and others) which allowed private citizens to draw congressional districts. This 2009 Ohio competition has been the model for other states which have launched redistricting competitions this year. The 2009 competition also led to separate reform proposals which passed each house of the legislature in the last session before stalling out.
The open question is to what extent the State Legislature will give consideration to districts proposed through the nonpartisan process being used in the current redistricting competition.
"Will it be politics as usual, or will it be a new day where we take advantage of modern technology and citizen input to generate fair congressional districts?" asked Leah Rush, director of the Midwest Democracy Network.
According to Ohio Redistricting Competition Manager Jim Slagle, "The competition has demonstrated that private citizens can general nonpartisan maps with districts that are more politically balanced, more compact, and better adhere to existing county and municipal boundaries."
The balance of power in Ohio may have national implications, as Ohio has long been a battleground state in Presidential elections. In 2010 the Republican Party took control of multiple state offices and full control of the legislature, causing a shift in power. The Republicans also picked up five congressional seats, so they now hold a 13-5 majority.
The interest in Ohio's congressional redistricting is heightened because two districts are being eliminated. This has led to Congressmen Dennis Kucinich (former Presidential candidate) exploring a move to the state of Washington to seek an available district. There has also been much media speculation that Speaker Boehner would attempt to eliminate Congressman Jim Jordan's district, because as head of the Republican Study Committee, Congressman Jordan has led opposition within the Republican caucus to the budget and debt ceiling compromises supported by Boehner.
Full information about the redistricting competition is available at www.drawthelineohio.org.
CONTACTS:
Jim Slagle, Ohio Campaign for Accountable Redistricting, (o) 614-221-6077, (c) 740-396-0195
Catherine Turcer, Ohio Citizen Action Money in Politics Project, 614-579-5509
Leah Rush, Midwest Democracy Network, 312-235-2855
What maps will the Legislature consider? 
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