Rep. Brown votes in opposition to Republican gerrymandered 13-2 congressional map, urges veto from the governor

Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) issued a statement after Republicans passed a partisan, four-year congressional district map that unduly favors GOP candidates 13-2. 

“Ohio Republicans voted out an intentionally unfair and unrepresentative Congressional map,” said Rep. Brown. “Their map does not at all reflect the preferences of the voters who overwhelmingly supported redistricting reforms in 2015 and 2018 for fair maps. The Republican map unduly favors one party over another and makes clear the majority party was never interested in passing a fair, bipartisan, and 10-year map. It is sad and unfortunate we are here. The people of Ohio deserve so much more.”

Democrats offered a compromise set of district lines on the House floor Thursday, which they say better align with the fair district reforms voters passed in 2018. The Democratic amendment mirrored their compromise map, HB 483, and would have limited unwarranted splits in Ohio’s largest counties, kept more communities together, and better reflected the preferences of Ohio voters. The map also created three minority opportunity districts. Republicans rejected the good faith amendment.

Following the vote, Rep. Brown sent a letter to Gov. Mike DeWine urging a veto of the Republicans’ partisan 13-2 map, which says the map “violates the Ohio Constitution and flouts the will of the people of Ohio who demanded fair districts that follow explicit, strict anti-gerrymandering requirements.”