Ohio’s journey to develop maps for the legislative and congressional voting districts has put many voters in new Ohio House, Senate, and Congressional districts for the upcoming election.
When voters go to the polls next week they may notice that they have different lawmakers representing them at the Statehouse and in Washington.
According to the Ohio Redistricting Commission, every 10 years, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts to reflect new population counts from the census. Ohio will now have 15 House districts, losing one after the 2020 census. This process is meant to ensure that as populations grow and change, every Ohio voter can have equal representation and an equal voice in government.
The location of district lines decide which voters vote for which representative. Changing the lines will change the relevant voters, and can change the identity, allegiance, and political priorities of a district’s representative, and of the legislative delegation as a whole states the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
One year, five legislative map proposals and two congressional redraws later the Ohio Redistricting Commission approved a Republican-drawn congressional map for the state, but because it passed without Democratic support, the new lines will only be in place for four years, rather than a full decade.
The new map gives Republicans an advantage in at least nine seats and gives Democrats two safe House districts in Ohio: the 3rd District, home to Columbus, and the 11th, home to Cleveland.
The redistricting commission was tasked with drawing a new congressional map after the first map — passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Mike DeWine — was invalidated by the Ohio Supreme Court in January.
With voting districts being changed some Ohio voters’ representatives may have changed too.
A resident living in western Delaware County who previously had U.S. Representative Troy Balderson (R-OH-12) as their congressman would now have U.S. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) due to the redistricting.
The Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose encourages voters to become familiar with their voting districts, polling locations, and local representatives prior to going to the polls.
Voters can find their local congressional, Ohio House and Ohio Senate districts by visiting the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office also has a list of polling locations in each county. Voters can view a sample ballot of the candidates and issues which will appear on their local ballot by visiting their county board of elections website.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ohio State Capitol” by Ibagli.
