Federal court throws out gerrymandered Ohio congressional map News
QuinceMedia / Pixabay
Federal court throws out gerrymandered Ohio congressional map

A federal court ruled Friday that Ohio’s congressional map was an unconstitutional gerrymander. The court ordered new maps to be drawn by June 14 so that they can be approved and used in the 2020 election.

A three-judge panel for the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio said the map was intentionally drawn to disadvantage Democratic voters and keep Republican representatives in power.

“They designed these districts with one overarching goal in mind—the creation of an Ohio congressional map that would reliably elect twelve Republican representatives and four Democratic representatives,” the court wrote. “We are convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity.”

The American Civil Liberties Union sued last year citing the map as unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering, on the basis of violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments and Article I of the US Constitution.

The ruling will go directly the US Supreme Court for review, which is also currently deliberating on gerrymandering cases in North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.