Ohio governor reconvenes panel to redraw unconstitutional Statehouse maps

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Some of Ohio’s political maps are going back to the drawing board.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine on Wednesday scheduled a Sept. 13 meeting for the Ohio Redistricting Commission to reconvene and try again to make constitutional Statehouse maps.

A federal court ordered the state’s 2022 legislative elections — for seats in the Ohio House and Senate in Columbus — to proceed under maps the state Supreme Court repeatedly ruled were gerrymandered in favor of Republicans.

The existing map resulted in even larger GOP supermajorities being elected to both the House and Senate.

But the court said those district lines could be used just once. The commission now is under the gun to redraw the boundaries in time for 2024 elections.

Ohio’s U.S. House map remains in limbo as part of a separate legal dispute. It also was determined to be unconstitutional.