Federal Court Strikes Down Ohio Gerrymandering in ACLU Lawsuit

CINCINNATI — A federal court today struck down Ohio’s current congressional map, finding it was derived from unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering. The court ordered a new map be drawn before the 2020 election.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio, and law firm Covington and Burling successfully challenged the map. At trial in March, the groups presented evidence that the current map was gerrymandered to lock in an overwhelming advantage for Republican candidates. The court gave the state until June 14 to redraw the map.

The following comments are from:

Alora Thomas-Lundborg, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project: “The court rejected Ohio’s manipulated map, finding it an extreme gerrymander. This decision follows the trial in which the map was rightly dubbed a ‘geographic monstrosity.’ This court joins others nationwide that have struck down this unconstitutional practice.”

Freda Levenson, legal director for ACLU of Ohio: “The court issued a meticulously detailed opinion, concluding that Ohio’s map was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, and ordered the state to enact a new remedial plan by June 14. This opinion, declaring Ohio an egregiously gerrymandered state, completely validates every one of our claims and theories in every respect.”

The ruling is at: https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/opinion-1

Case details here: https://www.aclu.org/cases/ohio-philip-randolph-institute-v-smith