Ohio Redistricting Disaster: A Timeline

Ohio will see a bifurcated primary election in 2022 thanks to the disfunction of Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission. In the meantime, we'll take a trip back to the start of the redistricting process and breakdown how we got here - Courtesy of Ballotpedia. 

PROCESS BEGINS

• April 26, 2021: The U.S. Census Bureau delivered apportionment counts.
• August 12, 2021: The U.S. Census Bureau delivered redistricting data to states in a legacy format.
• August 31, 2021: Members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission released legislative redistricting proposals.
• September 9, 2021: Members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission released legislative redistricting proposals.

STATE LEGISLATIVE MAPS APPROVED

• September 15, 2021: The Ohio Redistricting Commission approved state legislative maps for four years in a 5-2 commission vote.
• September 16, 2021: The U.S. Census Bureau released data from the 2020 census in an easier-to-use format to state redistricting authorities and the public.
• September 23, 2021: A lawsuit was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio's enacted legislative maps (League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission).
• September 24, 2021: A second lawsuit was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio's enacted legislative maps (Bennett v. Ohio Redistricting Commission).
• September 27, 2021: A third lawsuit was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio's enacted legislative maps (Ohio Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission).

OHIO CONSTITUTION VIOLATED

• September 30, 2021: The state legislature did not enact maps before the first deadline for congressional map enactment.
• October 31, 2021: The Ohio Redistricting Commission did not enact maps before the second deadline for congressional map enactment.
• November 15, 2021: Members of the Ohio State Legislature released their final congressional map proposal.

CONGRESSIONAL MAPS APPROVED

• November 16, 2021: The Ohio State Senate voted 24-7 to approve the congressional map.
• November 18, 2021: The Ohio House of Representatives approved the congressional map in a 55-36 vote.
• November 20, 2021: Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed the congressional map into law.
• November 22, 2021: A lawsuit was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio's enacted congressional map (Adams v. DeWine).
• November 30, 2021: A second lawsuit was filed in the Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio's enacted congressional map (League of Women Voters of Ohio v. DeWine).
• November 30, 2021: A federal lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio challenging Ohio's enacted congressional and state Senate maps (Simon v. DeWine).

FIRST SET OF STATE LEGISLATIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL MAPS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

• January 12, 2022: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled against the state's enacted legislative maps and ordered the Ohio Redistricting Commission to redraw them within 10 days.
• January 14, 2022: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled against the state's enacted congressional map and ordered the Ohio State Legislature to redraw it.
• January 22, 2022: The Ohio Redistricting Commission voted 5-2 to approve a new set of state legislative maps.
• January 25, 2022: The plaintiffs in three cases challenging the state legislative maps filed objections against the revised legislative maps (Ohio Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, Bennett v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, and League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission).

SECOND SET OF STATE LEGISLATIVE MAP RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

• February 7, 2022: The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the Ohio Redistricting Commission's second set of approved legislative maps and ordered the commission to redraw them within 10 days.
• February 9, 2022: Ohio legislative leaders said they would not draw a new congressional map, meaning the Ohio Redistricting Commission assumed responsibility for drawing the map.

OHIO SUPREME COURT ORDER VIOLATED

• February 17, 2022: The Ohio Redistricting Commission did not meet the court-ordered deadline to draw new legislative maps.
• February 18, 2022: A federal lawsuit was filed against the Ohio Redistricting Commission. The lawsuit asked the district court to enact the second set of legislative maps that had previously been struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court (Gonidakis v. Ohio Redistricting Commission).
• February 24, 2022: The Ohio Redistricting Commission voted 4-3 to approve redrawn legislative maps.
• March 2, 2022: The Ohio Redistricting Commission voted 5-2 to approve a redrawn congressional map.

THIRD SET OF STATE LEGISLATIVE MAP RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL, OHIO SUPREME COURT DETERMS CONGRESSIONAL MAPS NOT WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION 

• March 7, 2022: The Ohio Supreme Court rejected the Ohio Redistricting Commission's redrawn legislative maps and ordered the commission to redraw them.
• March 18, 2022: The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to overturn the redrawn congressional map approved by the redistricting commission on March 2.
• March 21, 2022: A lawsuit was filed challenging the March 2 congressional map (Neiman v. LaRose).
• March 28, 2022: The Ohio Redistricting Commission voted to approve redrawn legislative maps.

FOURTH SET OF STATE LEGISLATIVE MAPS RULED UNCONSTITIONAL

• April 14, 2022: The Ohio Supreme Court rejected the Ohio Redistricting Commission's redrawn legislative maps and ordered the commission to redraw them.
• April 20, 2022: A federal court ruled that if legislative maps were not approved by the state court by May 28, the federal court would order an August 2 primary election date using the third set of maps approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission.