Re-drawing of state and congressional maps could push primary election back in Ohio

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio — This week marks an important time for state legislators ahead of the May primary in Ohio.

The re-drawing of state and congressional maps continues to stall, and it if isn't solved soon, the May 3 Primary date could be moved back.

The most recent state legislature maps were struck down a second time by the Ohio Supreme Court.

"They came back, and they still want some things changed and those changes have to be made and resubmitted back by the 17th, which is later this week. So, this only has to do with the State House maps, both the Senate and Ohio House maps," Representative Don Jones said.

 
"It's not just simply drawing districts to make it 54 Republican seats and 45 Democrat seats, it's not that simple. There are a lot of other rules to the redistricting that people seem to forget. The compactness of a district has to be taken into account; the diversity of the district has to be taken into account."

Meanwhile, the Congressional maps are also being re-drawn. The first round of maps has been shut down, and this could become another problem for constituents.

"The problem here is that any bill takes 90 days to take effect, and we're less than 90 days away from the primary, so any bill that we would pass would not get the constitutional requirement to get the Congressional maps done. So, what we're probably going to see happen is that move into the hands of the redistricting commission as well," Representative Ron Ferguson said.

What do you tell constituents who are trying to think about who they want to vote for, but might not even know who is representing them at this time?

“Well in Eastern and Southeastern Ohio, part of the state we represent, they've drawn the maps,” Jones said. “The first map that came out, there were some changes to it, and our part of the state really has not been looked at in making any changes because the maps do meet the requirements."

"Voters deserve certainty, not confusion,” Ferguson said. “That's what we really have to be focused on, so May 3rd is the primary, we're focused on making May 3rd the primary. It's what people deserve all across the state of Ohio."