Legislative leaders urge GOP officials to put partisanship aside, respect will of Ohio voters

House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) and Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko (D-Richmond Heights) today urged Ohio GOP officials to accept the will of Ohio voters and reject congressional redistricting court appeals motivated by maintaining partisan, political control over the next election cycle.

“Whether or not our current congressional map is unfair and unconstitutional is not in dispute. Virtually no one believes it to be a fair map. The egregiously gerrymandered districts are what drove the voters to approve a reform measure that would eliminate the current mapmaking process and ensure fairer district lines. The Court has just given us the opportunity to start a little sooner than we expected,” the leaders wrote in a letter to GOP officials.

State officials have until June 14, 2019 to put new congressional districts in place after the federal courts today struck down Ohio’s existing congressional district map as unconstitutional.

“We hope we can work together with the fairness, transparency and bipartisanship that we promised Ohioans when we asked them to vote on a congressional redistricting proposal. The voters overwhelmingly approved this measure we crafted. They want fair maps. Appealing this decision would fly in the face of the voters’ clear demands,” the leaders continued.

Legislative leaders urge GOP officials to put partisanship aside, respect will of Ohio voters (PDF)