Judicial heroes of democracy defeat gerrymandered maps
“Gerrymandering is the antithetical perversion of representative democracy,” say the 4 Ohio Supreme Court Justices who defeated both of the highly partisan congressional and state legislative maps. Justices Jennifer Brunner, Michael Donnelly, Melody Stewart and Maureen O’Connor honored the new rules against gerrymandering by striking down the unconstitutional maps. They are true heroes of our democracy.
Page Contents
Congressional map
Justice Donnelly wrote the majority opinion invalidating the congressional districts, saying: “the evidence in these cases makes clear beyond all doubt that the General Assembly did not heed the clarion call sent by Ohio voters to stop political gerrymandering.”
“We hold that the congressional-district plan is invalid in its entirety because it unduly favors the Republican Party and disfavors the Democratic Party in violation of Article XIX, Section 1(C)(3)(a). We also hold that the plan unduly splits Hamilton, Cuyahoga, and Summit Counties in violation of Section 1(C)(3)(b). We order the General Assembly to adopt a new congressional-district plan that complies in full with Article XIX of the Ohio Constitution.”
Chief Justice O’Connor called the map “a gross departure from proportionality”, saying:
“No magician’s trick can hide what the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates: the map statistically presents such a partisan advantage that it unduly favors the Republican Party.”
Check out my thorough review of the battle over Ohio’s congressional map for more details.
State legislative maps
Justice Stewart wrote for the majority striking down state senate and house district maps:
“We hold that the plan is invalid because the commission did not attempt to draw a plan that meets the proportionality standard in Article XI, Section 6(B). We also conclude that the commission did not attempt to draw a plan that meets the standard in Section 6(A)—that no plan shall be drawn primarily to favor a political party.”
Article XI, Section 6 says the redistricting commission must try to make maps that don’t favor or disfavor a party, that correspond closely to the proportion of statewide votes for each party and that are compact. The ruling says this is “not merely aspirational,” that “if it is possible for a district plan to comply with Section 6 and Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7, the commission must adopt a plan that does so.” In other words, mapmakers must give the minority party about 46% of the districts to match Ohio’s voting trends, or else demonstrate clearly which constitutional provisions or demographic realities prevent them from doing so.
Chief Justice O’Connor agreed, adding that voters “have the power to again amend the Ohio Constitution to ensure that partisan politics is removed from the drawing of Ohio Senate and House districts,” encouraging us to consider replacing the commission of partisan lawmakers with an independent commission.
Justice Brunner concurred, and found that the maps also violated Article I, Section 2. That section states simply:
“All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their equal protection and benefit, and they have the right to alter, reform, or abolish the same, whenever they may deem it necessary; and no special privileges or immunities shall ever be granted, that may not be altered, revoked, or repealed by the general assembly.”
Brunner argues that “gerrymandering at its core prevents voters from voting on equal terms to alter or reform their government” and that these maps’ violation of equal protection is “so significant that it clearly meets the standard for the remedy.”
For more information, see my detailed analysis of Ohio’s state legislative redistricting, from proposals to court challenges.
Revised Statehouse maps struck down again
On 2/7, a 4-3 decision also struck down the revised State legislative maps, with the majority opinion written by Justice O’Connor.
They found that Republican mapmakers excluded involvement of Democratic commission members again, and faulted them for revising the invalidated map rather than making an entirely new map as ordered.
“The commission’s choice to nevertheless start with that [invalidated] plan and change it as little as possible is tantamount to an intent to preserve as much partisan favoritism as could be salvaged from the invalidated plan. It is also clear that the commission rejected, without explanation, easy and obvious changes that would have made the revised map more proportional.”
They cite a simple district swap suggested by Democrats that could have easily made a more proportional Senate map, and that Republican mapmakers refused the idea: “The commission’s choice to avoid a more proportional plan for no explicable reason points unavoidably toward an intent to favor the Republican Party.”
Citing this chart by Dr. Imai, the court ruled that mapmakers “failed to achieve proportionality when they made ‘Democratic-leaning’ districts that were actually toss-ups just slightly over 50%.” They rightly specify that “competitive districts . . . must either be excluded from the proportionality assessment or be allocated to each party in close proportion to its statewide vote share.”
“In a plan in which every toss-up district is a ‘Democratic district,’ the commission has not applied the term ‘favor’ as used in Section 6(B) equally to the two parties. […] The revised plan’s structure guarantees that the 58 percent seat share for Republicans is a floor whereas the 42 percent seat share for Democrats is a ceiling.”
The majority also shuts down false characterizations of their rulings:
“We reject the suggestion that our order constitutes a mandate to gerrymander to create Democratic-leaning districts. This suggestion implies that neither the September 2021 plan nor the revised plan were Republican-favoring gerrymanders. The evidence demonstrates otherwise. Throughout the process, the Republican map drawers refused to expressly work toward a 54 to 46 percent partisan share. Yet that is not a “superficial ratio,” a “Democratic ratio,” or an “arbitrary percentage,” as one commissioner cavalierly dismissed it. . . . It is a foundational ratio created not by this court or by any particular political party but instead etched by the voters of Ohio into our Constitution.”
In a rebuke of the Republican mapmaker’s judgement, the court said “we do not view [DiRossi’s opinion] as an objective measure of the validity or constitutionality of the various plans.” They also blamed the commission for creating its own time crunch by doing nothing for 6 days before starting on the maps.
A precedent for more fair district maps
With these opinions, there is now a precedent that all district mapmaking going forward must be done more proportionally, which is a major win for truly representing the voices of Ohioans in our elections.
Thank you Justices O’Connor, Donnelly, Stewart and Brunner for being heroes of our democracy.
5 Ohio Congressmen’s rejection of election results was unconstitutional
Props to OH-11’s Least Partisan: Barnes, Smith, Brown, Corey
Rep Loychik & Candidate Schulz Make Authoritarian Calls to Imprison Top Scientist
About The Author
Optimist from Ohio
I've been interested in philosophy and science since I was young, and community service and civic engagement have became a passion since college. I was born in Ohio and have lived in different parts of the state most of my life. I'm optimistic about the potential for humanity to live in peace with one another, but only if we work to better understand our world and each other with reason, patience and compassion.
I simply could not go away your web site prior to suggesting that I extremely loved the standard information a person provide on your visitors? Is gonna be back continuously to check out new posts
I have recently started a blog, the information you provide on this site has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work.
You have brought up a very great details, thanks for the post.
I have recently started a web site, the information you provide on this website has helped me greatly. Thank you for all of your time & work.
Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is fundamental and all. Nevertheless just imagine if you added some great graphics or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and videos, this blog could undeniably be one of the greatest in its niche. Amazing blog!
What Is Aizen Power? Aizen Power is presented as a distinctive dietary supplement with a singular focus on addressing the root cause of smaller phalluses
How Does Sugar Defender Work & What are the Expected Results? Sugar Defender is a liquid supplement.
Howdy just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your content seem to be running off the screen in Safari. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue fixed soon. Cheers
Thank you for another excellent article. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such information.
Thank you for another informative blog. Where else could I get that type of information written in such a perfect way? I have a project that I am just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such info.
I envy your work, regards for all the good blog posts.
Outstanding post, I believe blog owners should larn a lot from this site its rattling user genial.
What Is Exactly ZenCortex? ZenCortex is an optimal hearing function support
Absolutely composed subject matter, thanks for information. “The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly.” by Corra Harris.
I want to express my appreciation for your kindness giving support to persons that have the need for guidance on this particular content. Your personal commitment to passing the solution all through appeared to be definitely powerful and has frequently enabled people like me to get to their dreams. Your amazing useful key points denotes much to me and even further to my peers. Regards; from each one of us.
Very interesting topic, regards for posting.
Im not positive the place you are getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend some time finding out more or understanding more. Thanks for magnificent info I used to be searching for this info for my mission.
Its wonderful as your other blog posts : D, thanks for putting up. “As experience widens, one begins to see how much upon a level all human things are.” by Joseph Farrell.
A lot of of what you claim happens to be astonishingly appropriate and it makes me wonder why I had not looked at this in this light previously. This particular article truly did switch the light on for me personally as far as this specific subject goes. But there is actually one particular position I am not necessarily too comfy with so whilst I attempt to reconcile that with the core idea of your issue, let me observe exactly what the rest of your readers have to say.Well done.
Valuable information. Lucky me I found your site by accident, and I am shocked why this accident did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it.
Renew: An Overview. Renew is a dietary supplement formulated to aid in the weight loss process by enhancing the body’s regenerative functions
Lottery Defeater: What Is It? A software tool called Lottery Defeater was created to raise the odds of winning lottery tickets.
You have brought up a very superb details, appreciate it for the post.
I saw a lot of website but I believe this one contains something special in it in it
I truly enjoy reading on this site, it contains great articles. “One should die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly.” by Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.
My brother suggested I might like this website. He was totally right. This post truly made my day. You can not imagine just how much time I had spent for this information! Thanks!
I love your writing style genuinely loving this site.
I respect your work, thankyou for all the useful content.
I haven’t checked in here for some time as I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are good quality so I guess I’ll add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
Along with the whole thing that seems to be developing throughout this specific subject material, your viewpoints are fairly exciting. Nonetheless, I appologize, but I do not give credence to your whole strategy, all be it stimulating none the less. It appears to everyone that your remarks are not totally rationalized and in simple fact you are your self not completely certain of the assertion. In any event I did appreciate reading through it.
Throughout this grand pattern of things you actually secure a B+ for effort and hard work. Where exactly you actually misplaced everybody was first on the specifics. You know, they say, the devil is in the details… And that couldn’t be much more true at this point. Having said that, let me reveal to you precisely what did give good results. Your writing is very convincing which is probably the reason why I am making an effort to comment. I do not make it a regular habit of doing that. Next, although I can certainly see the leaps in reasoning you make, I am definitely not certain of how you appear to unite your ideas which inturn help to make the conclusion. For right now I will, no doubt subscribe to your point however trust in the foreseeable future you link the facts much better.
Hi there! I know this is somewhat off topic but I was wondering if you knew where I could find a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having trouble finding one? Thanks a lot!
I like the valuable info you provide in your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check again here frequently. I’m quite sure I will learn many new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!
Hiya very nice web site!! Man .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I’m satisfied to search out a lot of helpful information right here within the put up, we want develop more techniques in this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again very soon!
I just could not leave your website prior to suggesting that I extremely enjoyed the standard information a person provide to your visitors? Is going to be back frequently in order to check up on new posts
What does the Lottery Defeater Software offer? The Lottery Defeater Software is a unique predictive tool crafted to empower individuals seeking to boost their chances of winning the lottery.
I’ve been surfing online greater than three hours as of late, yet I by no means found any interesting article like yours. It¦s lovely price sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made just right content material as you probably did, the internet can be much more useful than ever before.
What is Lottery Defeater Software? Lottery Defeater Software is a plug-and-play Lottery Winning Software that is fully automated. Kenneth created the Lottery Defeater software. Every time someone plays the lottery, it increases their odds of winning by around 98.
What is Tea Burn? Tea Burn is a new market-leading fat-burning supplement with a natural patent formula that can increase both speed and efficiency of metabolism. Combining it with Tea, water, or coffee can help burn calories quickly.
I am glad to be one of many visitants on this great site (:, appreciate it for posting.
At this time it appears like WordPress is the preferred blogging platform out there right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
I definitely wanted to compose a brief comment to be able to appreciate you for the unique facts you are sharing on this website. My time consuming internet lookup has at the end of the day been compensated with extremely good know-how to exchange with my family. I ‘d claim that most of us site visitors actually are extremely blessed to dwell in a fine network with so many wonderful individuals with great points. I feel truly blessed to have come across your web site and look forward to many more brilliant minutes reading here. Thanks a lot once more for all the details.
Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.
Hi, Neat post. There’s a problem with your site in web explorer, may test this… IE nonetheless is the market chief and a good component to folks will leave out your magnificent writing because of this problem.
This is a very good tips especially to those new to blogosphere, brief and accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one. A must read article.
A person essentially help to make seriously articles I would state. This is the very first time I frequented your web page and thus far? I surprised with the research you made to make this particular publish extraordinary. Wonderful job!
Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
It is perfect time to make some plans for the long run and it’s time to be happy. I have learn this put up and if I may just I desire to suggest you some fascinating issues or advice. Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article. I wish to learn more things approximately it!
I¦ve read some excellent stuff here. Definitely value bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much attempt you put to make the sort of wonderful informative site.
I have read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting. I surprise how much effort you set to make any such wonderful informative site.
With almost everything which appears to be developing within this specific subject matter, many of your perspectives are generally fairly refreshing. Even so, I beg your pardon, but I can not subscribe to your entire strategy, all be it exhilarating none the less. It seems to everyone that your commentary are generally not totally validated and in simple fact you are yourself not really wholly certain of the point. In any event I did take pleasure in reading it.
Incredible! This blog looks exactly like my old one! It’s on a entirely different topic but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Great choice of colors!
You made some respectable points there. I looked on the web for the problem and found most individuals will associate with with your website.
Hello there! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when viewing from my apple iphone. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to fix this issue. If you have any recommendations, please share. Many thanks!
My developer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any kind of help would be greatly appreciated!
What i don’t understood is in reality how you are not really a lot more smartly-favored than you may be right now. You are so intelligent. You recognize thus considerably relating to this matter, produced me in my view imagine it from so many varied angles. Its like women and men are not fascinated unless it’s one thing to do with Girl gaga! Your individual stuffs nice. All the time handle it up!