Ohio voters this month approved an overhaul of the congressional redistricting process.
But a federal lawsuit has been filed against the current map, which opponents say is a result of partisan gerrymandering. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio’s Freda Levenson says there’s good reason why her group is challenging the map that was drawn in 2011 now, even though voters overwhelmingly approved a new redistricting process going forward.
“Ballot Issue 1 won’t take effect until after the next census and until a new map is drawn in 2021 and elections occur in the 2022 election cycle.”
Levenson says Ohio has one of the most egregiously gerrymandered maps in the country. She says there have been recent developments in case law that give the ACLU the opportunity to bring this suit forward now. The ACLU of Ohio raised concerns about Issue 1 earlier this month, saying it wouldn’t do enough to stop gerrymandering.