Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman has ended his pursuit of a constitutional amendment to push back redistricting deadlines in the state, a proposed attempt at dealing with delays in receiving U.S. Census data.
Ohio is expected to receive census data used for drawing new federal and state legislative maps sometime in September. That is a problem, as the state’s redistricting processes set deadlines for around that time to draw and approve new maps.
The fear is Ohio will not have enough time to receive the data and adequately use it to draw new maps for the Ohio General Assembly and for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Huffman, a Lima Republican, had proposed placing a constitutional amendment on the August special election ballot to extend those deadlines and accommodate the census delays. The deadline for pursuing such a measure would have been today.
Facing criticism from Democrats and some fair maps advocates, an Ohio Senate spokesperson said Wednesday morning the Republican leader has dropped the effort.
Ohio Democrats too want to see the redistricting deadlines pushed back, but they believed a hurried effort to get this issue on the August ballot was the wrong way to go.
House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes, D-Akron, and Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, believe the state should seek an extension via the Ohio Supreme Court. They feel confident the court will be amenable to moving the deadlines back to allow for a fair redistricting process.
All on the Line Ohio, a left-leaning organization pushing for a fair mapmaking process, was skeptical of the Huffman plan. Katy Shanahan, the group’s leader, said Wednesday she was glad to see Huffman drop the proposal as Ohioans would not have had time to provide input before lawmakers moved to put the amendment on the ballot.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Dave Yost continues to fight in federal court to compel the government to release data sooner.
Yost sued the Biden administration in February, but a judge dismissed the case a month later. Yost has appealed that decision and oral arguments in appellate court are scheduled for next week.
This story is being updated.
