(THE CENTER SQUARE) – A federal judicial panel will not block certification of Ohio congressional primary election races that began with early voting April 5 and ends election day May 3.
The panel ruled Tuesday morning not to grant the request of a group of Youngstown voters that raised issues of Black representation in the congressional districts approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission in early March.
The original congressional map was thrown out by the Ohio Supreme Court as unconstitutional by being unfairly gerrymandered to benefit Republicans, the court said. The second congressional district map drawn by the commission has yet to be ruled on by the court.
The district court panel said a new lawsuit would be needed from the Youngstown group, known as the Simon parties. The group had asked for a temporary restraining order for the U.S. House races as a side party to a lawsuit challenging the state legislative districts.
The court said their issue must be a separate lawsuit.
“Nonetheless, their best course at this point is to file a new federal case in the Northern District specific to congressional redistricting and to move for a [temporary restraining order] as they see fit and a panel appointment as the law requires,” the court said. “Since the Court finds that congressional redistricting is not properly before it, the Court need not resolve the parties’ arguments on the immediacy and irreparability factors.”
Overseas and early voting began in early April for the May 3 primary, which includes congressional, statewide and local issues. Secretary of State Frank LaRose removed state House and Senate races from the primary ballot.
The General Assembly has not set a date for a second primary, which could cost up to $20 million.
The commission passed a fourth set of state legislative maps March 28, bypassing two independent mapmakers it hired and instead tweaking a previous set of districts that had been thrown out by the Supreme Court.
That fourth set of maps has yet to be ruled on by the court.
Lawyers for the commission argued last month a new lawsuit must be filed to challenge the commission’s congressional district plan and claimed groups opposing the plan are stalling with needless motions.
Redistricting commission lawyers claimed in a response to the Ohio Supreme Court the commission was originally dismissed from the congressional map lawsuit when the first set of districts were drawn by the General Assembly.
