Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Redistricting in Ohio ahead of the 2026 elections
Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures. This article covers redistricting activity in Ohio after the 2024 elections and before the 2026 elections.
Ohio's 15 United States representatives and 132 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.
Congressional districts
Map drafting in Ohio after the 2020 census is ongoing.
On March 2, 2022, the Ohio Redistricting Commission approved a redrawn congressional map in a 5-2 vote along party lines, meaning the map lasted for four years.[1] On March 18, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to overturn the map before the state's primary elections as part of the legal challenge that overturned the initial congressional map.[2] This map took effect for Ohio's 2022 congressional elections. The legislature has until the end of September 2025 to pass a new map with three-fifths support in both chambers or the Ohio Redistricting Commission will take over to adopt a plan by October 31, 2025.[3]
Click here for more information.
Legislative districts
Litigation over state legislative redistricting in Ohio after the 2020 census has concluded.
Due to a 2022 Ohio Supreme Court ruling, the Ohio Redistricting Commission was required to draw new state legislative maps following the 2022 elections.[4]
On September 26, 2023, the Ohio Redistricting Commission voted 6-0 (with one member absent) to adopt new state legislative maps.[5][6] On October 5, the ACLU of Ohio filed a motion on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and other plaintiffs asking the Ohio Supreme Court to invalidate the new state legislative maps on the grounds that they violated the state constitution.[7]
On November 27, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the maps and dismissed the following cases: League of Women Voters of Ohio et al. v. Ohio Redistricting Commission et al., Bennett et al. v. Ohio Redistricting Commission et al., and Ohio Organizing Collaborative et al. v. Ohio Redistricting Commission et al.[8]
Click here for more information.
For a complete overview of redistricting in Ohio after the 2020 census, click here.
Summary
This section lists major events in the post-2020 census redistricting cycle in reverse chronological order. Major events include the release of apportionment data, the release of census population data, the introduction of formal map proposals, the enactment of new maps, and noteworthy court challenges. Click the dates below for additional information.
Court challenges
For more information about redistricting lawsuits in Ohio, click here.
Enacted maps
Enacted congressional district maps
Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed a new congressional map into law on November 20, 2021.[17] The Ohio State Senate voted 24-7 to approve the map on November 16.[18] The Ohio House of Representatives voted 55-36 to approve the map on November 18.[19]
On January 14, 2022, the Ohio Supreme Court struck down the state's enacted congressional map and ordered the Ohio State Legislature to redraw it.[20] On February 9, 2022, legislative leaders said they would not draw a new map, meaning the Ohio Redistricting Commission assumed responsibility for drawing the map.[21]
On September 7, 2023, the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging the state's congressional district boundaries after the petitioners who filed the original lawsuit requested that the court dismiss the case and leave the boundaries in place for the 2024 election.[22]The U.S. Supreme Court had vacated a 2022 state supreme court decision that had overturned the state's 2022 congressional district boundaries[23] Since the congressional district boundaries that the state's redistricting commission adopted in March 2022 and which were used in the 2022 elections did not have support from members of the minority party, they were in effect for only two U.S. House elections with the commission required to enact a new map after the 2024 elections.
On March 2, 2022, the Ohio Redistricting Commission approved a redrawn congressional map in a 5-2 vote along party lines, meaning the map lasted for four years.[24] On March 18, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to overturn the map before the state's primary elections as part of the legal challenge that overturned the initial congressional map.[25] This map took effect for Ohio's 2022 congressional elections.
Enacted state legislative district maps
Due to a 2022 Ohio Supreme Court ruling, the Ohio Redistricting Commission was required to draw new state legislative maps following the 2022 elections.[26]
On September 26, 2023, the Ohio Redistricting Commission voted 6-0 (with one member absent) to adopt new state legislative maps.[27][28] On October 5, the ACLU of Ohio filed a motion on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Ohio and other plaintiffs asking the Ohio Supreme Court to invalidate the new state legislative maps on the grounds that they violated the state constitution.[29]
On November 27, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the maps and dismissed the following cases: League of Women Voters of Ohio et al. v. Ohio Redistricting Commission et al., Bennett et al. v. Ohio Redistricting Commission et al., and Ohio Organizing Collaborative et al. v. Ohio Redistricting Commission et al.[8] Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy wrote for the majority: "The bipartisan adoption of the September 2023 plan is a changed circumstance that makes it appropriate to relinquish our continuing jurisdiction over these cases.[30]
The majority was composed of the court's four Republicans.
Justice Jennifer L. Brunner wrote a dissent on behalf of the court's other two Democrats, saying, "It is illusory to suggest that a bipartisan vote to adopt the September 2023 plan constitutes a change in circumstances that somehow diminishes our review power or renders a unanimous redistricting plan constitutionally compliant. There is nothing in Article XI, Section 6 that suggests that bipartisan agreement on a plan renders it presumptively constitutional, and we have flatly rejected that idea."[31]
See also
- Redistricting in Ohio after the 2020 census
- Redistricting in Louisiana after the 2010 census
- Redistricting in Ohio
- State-by-state redistricting procedures
- Majority-minority districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- All About Redistricting
- Dave's Redistricting
- FiveThirtyEight, "What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State"
- National Conference of State Legislatures, "Redistricting Process"
- FairVote, "Redistricting"
Footnotes
- ↑ Dayton Daily News, "Ohio Redistricting Commission approves new U.S. House map on another party-line vote," March 2, 2022
- ↑ 13ABC, "Ohio Supreme Court makes final judgement on Congressional map challenges," March 18, 2022
- ↑ WTVG, "Ohio to redraw Congressional map for 2026 election," December 18, 2024
- ↑ Ohio Legislative Budget Office, "Redistricting in Ohio: Members Brief," April 19, 2024
- ↑ Associated Press, "Bipartisan Ohio commission unanimously approves new maps that favor Republican state legislators," September 27, 2023
- ↑ Ohio Capital Journal, "Ohio Redistricting Commission adopts sixth version of Statehouse maps with bipartisan support," September 27, 2023
- ↑ 21 WFMJ, "Newly enacted district maps challenged by voting rights groups," October 5, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 AP, "Ohio Supreme Court dismisses 3 long-running redistricting lawsuits against state legislative maps," November 28, 2023
- ↑ Ohio Capital Journal, "Ohio Supreme Court dismisses redistricting challenge, leaving Statehouse maps in place," November 28, 2023
- ↑ Neiman, et al v. LaRose, et al," September 5, 2023
- ↑ 21 WFMJ, "Newly enacted district maps challenged by voting rights groups," October 5, 2023
- ↑ Associated Press, "Bipartisan Ohio commission unanimously approves new maps that favor Republican state legislators," September 27, 2023
- ↑ Ohio Capital Journal, "Ohio Redistricting Commission adopts sixth version of Statehouse maps with bipartisan support," September 27, 2023
- ↑ Neiman, et al v. LaRose, et al," September 5, 2023
- ↑ Neiman, et al v. LaRose, et al," September 5, 2023
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Order List (6/30/2023)," accessed September 8, 2023
- ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Gov. DeWine approves congressional map over objections of voting rights groups, Democrats," November 20, 2021
- ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Democrats won't support Republican-drawn Ohio congressional districts, limiting map to four years," November 16, 2021
- ↑ WHIO, "Ohio Congressional map heads to Governor; Clark County would be divided," November 19, 2021
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcnocon - ↑ WKSU, "Legislative leaders send Congressional mapmaking back to Ohio Redistricting Commission," February 9, 2022
- ↑ Neiman, et al v. LaRose, et al," September 5, 2023
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Order List (6/30/2023)," accessed September 8, 2023
- ↑ Dayton Daily News, "Ohio Redistricting Commission approves new U.S. House map on another party-line vote," March 2, 2022
- ↑ 13ABC, "Ohio Supreme Court makes final judgement on Congressional map challenges," March 18, 2022
- ↑ Cleveland.com, "Ohio is about to hold elections for unconstitutional congressional and legislative districts. Here’s how it happened," October 9, 2022
- ↑ Ohio Capital Journal, "Ohio Redistricting Commission adopts sixth version of Statehouse maps with bipartisan support," September 27, 2023
- ↑ WCBE, "Ohio Redistricting Commission unanimously approves 6th version of House and Senate maps," September 27, 2023
- ↑ WFMJ, "Newly enacted district maps challenged by voting rights groups," October 5, 2023
- ↑ Ohio Capital Journal, "Ohio Supreme Court dismisses redistricting challenge, leaving Statehouse maps in place," November 28, 2023
- ↑ Supreme Court of Ohio, "League of Women Voters v. Ohio Redistricting Commission," accessed September 11, 2024
 |
State of Ohio Columbus (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
