Congressional Redistricting

Abstract

Abstract Article XIX addresses congressional redistricting, which had been the responsibility of the General Assembly since the 1802 Constitution. In 2018, the voters approved an amendment to revise completely the process for drawing congressional district lines. Though continuing to rely in the first instance on the General Assembly, the new amendment included supermajority bipartisan voting requirements, detailed standards for drawing district lines, a prohibition on partisan gerrymandering, and the use of the Ohio Redistricting Commission. In addition to seeking to end partisan gerrymandering, the 2018 amendment sought to create a fair, bipartisan, and transparent process for congressional redistricting with districts that were compact and that kept local communities together. The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 holding that partisan gerrymandering was a nonjusticiable political question in the federal court underscored the wisdom of the path chosen in Ohio for addressing both apportionment and redistricting.