The lead lawmaker on redistricting reform in the House said Thursday changes to the process for drawing congressional districts likely won’t happen before next year. The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing whether Arizona can hand its redistricting pen to an independent commission with some members selected by lawmakers instead of the Legislature. The U.S. Constitution states the “times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.” Most Ohio politicians agree the state’s map-drawing has become hyperpartisan and allowed the majority party to ignore input from the minority party. Ohio lawmakers have proposed allowing a panel with the governor, secretary of state, auditor and four state lawmakers — two each from the minority and majority parties — to draw both congressional and state legislative boundaries.
Rep. Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, introduced two resolutions — one each for congressional and legislative duties — that would need voter approval in November 2015. Huffman said effort on a congressional redistricting resolution and ballot issue could be wasted if the Supreme Court were to make a decision that changes the rules.
“If we can achieve something significant on the state legislative districts, I don’t want to not do that in the next month or so because we’re hung up on the language of the congressional,” Huffman said.
Full Article: Redistricting reform for congressional maps unlikely this year, Ohio lawmaker says | cleveland.com.