by J.D. Davidson
An Ohio lawmaker wants the Ohio Supreme Court to pay the potential $20 million price tag for a second primary election after it ruled three times legislative redistricting maps were unconstitutional.
Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Jefferson, plans to introduce legislation to pull second primary election costs from the court’s budget, saying the Ohio Redistricting Commission worked in a bipartisan manner to develop new districts.
“Over the past several months, Ohioans have been faced with confusion and uncertainty regarding the primary election,” Ferguson said at a news conference. “The Supreme Court’s lack of prioritization for a unified primary means the Legislature must now begin the discussion of how we will pay for a second primary election.”
Despite court rulings that said the commission failed to include Democrats on the commission in the process and failed to keep the public informed, Ferguson defended the group.
“The Redistricting Commission has worked in a bipartisan manner into the wee hours of the night developing a plan for a May 3rd primary,” Ferguson said. “Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has not held that same goal of a non-bifurcated primary.”
Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission said they did everything the Supreme Court ordered them to do. Still, they say independent map makers ran out of time, leaving tweaks to a previously unconstitutional GOP plan as the only option for new state legislative districts.
That came as a response to a motion to hold four GOP members of the commission in contempt of court after the commission created and passed the fourth set of maps, which have yet to be ruled on by the court.
Groups challenged the fourth set after the commission bypassed its two independent map makers and narrowly approved an updated version of its third set of maps on March 28, which previously were ruled unconstitutional. The new plan was developed by Republican staff.
The motion from the League of Women Voters and other groups challenging the districts said the redistricting process took a shocking turn and was hijacked by four of the Republican commissioners.
“The plan adopted by the commission at the eleventh-hour on March 28 and submitted to the court is not the bipartisan, transparently drawn, map of the entire commission. By its sponsors’ admission, it is the invalidated second revised plan with ‘only minor changes,’” the motion reads.
The commission hired the two mapmakers at $450 an hour with a cap of $49,000 for each. Michael McDonald, a professor at the University of Florida, submitted a bill for a little more than $40,000 for his work. Doug Johnson, the second map maker, has yet to submit a bill, according to Maya Majikas, deputy communications director for the Democrats.
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An Ohio native, J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher. Davidson is a regional editor for The Center Square.
Background Photo “Ohio State Supreme Court” by Sixflashphoto. CC BY-SA 4.0.
