COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio is seeking to stay an order requiring a new congressional map be drawn by next month after a court ruling found its Republican-drawn congressional districts unconstitutional.
FILE – In this April 11, 2019 file photo, David Niven, a professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati holds a map displaying the wide disparity of Ohio congressional district office locations, with orange locations representing areas whose office are found outside it’s own district’s bounds, in Cincinnati. A federal court ruled Friday, May 3 that Ohio’s congressional map is unconstitutional and ordered a new one be drawn for the 2020 elections. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
An appeal was filed Monday on behalf of GOP Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Republican legislative leaders.
A panel of federal judges issued their ruling Friday and ordered the state to draw a new map in time for the 2020 elections. The judges — two nominated by Democratic presidents, one by a Republican — ordered a proposed new map by June 14
The ruling, if it stands, could be an important victory for Democrats in a key battleground state. They hope redrawn boundaries help them pick up House seats and deliver the states’ delegates for a Democratic presidential nominee in 2020.