League of Women Voters of Ohio v. Ohio Redistricting Commission (State House and Senate Challenge)

The ACLU, ACLU of Ohio, and Covington & Burling LLP filed a lawsuit on Sept. 23, 2021, in Ohio Supreme Court challenging Ohio’s newly drawn maps for state House and Senate districts that give extreme and unfair advantage to the Republican Party. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, the Ohio chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, and several individuals.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission — which is dominated by Republicans — approved extreme Republican gerrymanders by a 5-2 party-line vote, disrespecting the letter and spirit of the constitutional proportionality standard passed overwhelmingly by Ohio voters in 2015. The maps locked in Republican veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly.

On January 12, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down the maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders ordered the commission to adopt a new plan within 10 days of the judgment. The Court retained jurisdiction to review the new plan for compliance with the Ohio Constitution.

On January 22, 2022, the commission submitted a new plan to the Ohio Supreme Court. On February 7, 2022, this plan was again rejected as an unconstitutional Republican partisan gerrymander. This cycle continued six times over, with the Court again and again rejecting the unconstitutional plans adopted by lawmakers. With the 2022 election approaching, and no map yet enacted, a federal three-judge court imposed the Republican gerrymander for use in the 2022 elections on May 27, 2022.

On November 27, 2023, the Ohio Supreme Court granted the Defendants’ motions to dismiss Plaintiffs’ action and denied Plaintiffs’ motions for leave to file objections instanter.