COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — As high-stakes redistricting battles erupt nationwide, an Ohio coalition is stepping back into the spotlight to fend off partisan gerrymandering.
The Equal Districts Coalition — a statewide alliance of environmental, education, civil rights and several other advocacy groups — announced last week it’s relaunching to demand fair congressional maps in Ohio, just as lawmakers in Texas and California are also drawing fire for threatening to manipulate political boundaries ahead of the 2026 election.
While Texas Republicans are pushing for a mid-decade redraw to expand their congressional edge, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is signaling he will abandon the state’s independent redistricting commission in retaliation.
Ohio is unique in being the only state required to redraw its congressional map in 2025, a legal consequence of the 2022 map’s adoption without bipartisan support under redistricting reform laws. Such maps last only four years; the new map will govern congressional elections through 2030 and likely shape the battleground for control of the U.S. House.
“Ohio is the only state required to redraw its congressional map this year because the last one was gerrymandered so badly,” Equal Districts spokesperson Bria Bennett said. “Without transparency and public pressure, politicians will use this process to lock in partisan power and set a national gerrymandering playbook. We’re here to make sure voters, and not politicians, decide our future.”
Procedural roadmap
Under Ohio’s constitutional redistricting process, the legislature has until roughly Sept. 30 to pass a congressional map with a three‑fifths majority, including support from both parties. If that fails, the Ohio Redistricting Commission steps in with only a month to agree. If that also fails, the legislature makes a simple‑majority map, but it then lasts only four years.
The current commission is dominated by Republicans, holding five of seven seats, and the Ohio Supreme Court now leans heavily conservative, making legal challenges more uncertain than in past cycles.
After Issue 1’s defeat
The Equal Districts’ relaunch follows the defeat of 2024’s Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment that aimed to create an independent redistricting commission in Ohio. The ballot measure, backed by several of the same groups now involved in the coalition, was pitched as a solution to end partisan gerrymandering.
Issue 1 was rejected at the polls after a heated and expensive campaign in which opponents framed the measure as an unnecessary overhaul of the current system. The failure of Issue 1 left the existing redistricting structure intact, but Equal Districts is betting that a more organized, informed, and vocal public can still make a decisive difference in shaping what comes next.
