(THE CENTER SQUARE) – The Ohio General Assembly has agreed to give Secretary of State Frank LaRose some authority to make administrative changes regarding the upcoming primary election while challenges to the state’s new legislative districts continue to play out in court.
LaRose asked for the power a little more than a week ago when the Ohio Redistricting Commission returned to work in an effort to meet a court order to redraw previously approved districts. The House and Senate approved the changes Wednesday, sending the legislation to Gov. Mike DeWine.
The state’s primaries are scheduled for May 3, with the candidate filing deadline Feb 2.
“We are starting to become perilously close where [meeting deadlines] may not be possible,” LaRose said more than a week ago when the commission met for the first time following the court ruling. “Without finality on maps, mechanically, it may not be able to be done.”
The bill passed by the General Assembly would give LaRose the power to adjust internal and administrative deadlines for the primary.
The bill also would not penalize candidates for having incorrect district numbers or dates on their filing petitions that were a result from changes to the maps and give candidates more flexibility to meet residency requirements because of last-minute map changes.
House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, who is a member of the redistricting commission, said Republicans put the primary election in jeopardy.
"Voters deserve free and fair elections. That means having access to run for office, knowing what the district lines are, and knowing who you're voting for," Russo said. "Our elections were jeopardized when the majority on the Redistricting Commission twice passed unconstitutional district maps favoring their own political party and when Republicans refused to appropriately move the petition filing deadline. The emergency legislative changes that were passed will help alleviate some concerns about administrative deadlines and paperwork requirements, but these measures fall far short of what’s needed to prevent chaos and confusion for election officials and candidates.”
Several groups filed objections Tuesday to the commission’s second attempt at redrawing state legislative maps.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the ACLU filed objections Tuesday night on behalf of the League of Women Voters Ohio, the A. Philip Randolph Institute and several individuals.
The objections included charges the new maps do not meet the proportionality the court ordered.
The court ordered a map that more closely reflected the state’s 54% Republican to 46% Democrat voting breakdown. The first maps favored the GOP by 62% in the House and nearly 70% in the Senate. The new maps give the GOP a 57-42 advantage in the House and a 20-13 advantage in the Senate.
