Cowardly Republicans trying to 'rig the system' in Ohio, Columbus city attorney says

Voters in 2015 and 2018 overwhelmingly approved measures reforming the way Ohio draws its state legislative and congressional district maps, writing into our constitution processes that were supposed to promote bipartisanship and bring fair maps to Ohio.

If redistricting commission members failed to live up to that duty, voters made sure that the Ohio Supreme Court could intervene and hold lawmakers accountable for trying to rig the district lines.

Up until this point, the Republican members of the redistricting commission have flouted their constitutional duty to draw fair maps that reflect the will of the voters.

More: GOP OKs Ohio legislature maps tweaked from rejected ones; Democrats say process 'hijacked'

Just this week, we saw Republicans on the commission reject maps drawn in the public view by a pair of bipartisan mapmakers—only to turn around and approve another likely flawed, secretly GOP-drawn map.

Now former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's National Redistricting Action Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio have asked the Ohio Supreme Court to hold commission members contempt of court.

The groups are suing over legislative maps put forward by the GOP-dominated commission.

At a time when democracy feels in crisis and the institutions that exist to safeguard it are showing their wear and tear, the Ohio Supreme Court's rulings inspire faith in the process voters laid out to eliminate partisan gerrymandering.

Despite Republican attempts to rig the system, the Ohio Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, should be commended for rightfully enforcing the law even in the face of harsh partisan criticism.

This is a case study in how the rule of law and an independent judiciary is designed to work in a democracy.

More: Ohio Republicans discussing impeachment of Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor after map ruling

The court is not to blame for the redistricting commission’s inability or unwillingness to abide by the rules and draw the fair maps Ohioans deserve—and demanded. The justices are simply doing their job to uphold the law by evaluating the merits of each individual map presented to them. When the maps presented are clearly unconstitutional and purely partisan, the court has no choice but to continue to reject those maps.

Likewise, the court is not to blame for the crisis in which we find ourselves, a month away from our state’s primary election with no district lines in place. It’s a manufactured problem created entirely by Republican commission members.

Had they acted in good faith from the start, we would have had fair maps months ago and election officials across the state would be busy preparing for our primary. But Republicans didn’t act in good faith and now elections officials are faced with an unprecedented crisis.

More: Disingenuous Ohio Republicans disregard will of people to maintain dominance

The city attorney’s office has won our share of cases, but we’ve lost some too. But no matter the outcome, we respect the legal process. We don’t threaten to unseat judges or call into question their impartiality. We don’t disparage their commitment to the law. We respect their decision and get back to work on behalf of the people of Columbus. That’s our job.

Republicans on the redistricting commission created this mess and now it’s their job to fix it—not the Democrats on the commission and certainly not the court.

Gerrymandering is a scourge whether it’s a “blue” or “red” state. And in Ohio, voters laid out a process that’s simple: draw fair maps. It’s what a number of citizen-led groups have done when they submitted maps for review to the commission, and it’s what Republican commission members must do in order to salvage what chance we have at holding our scheduled primary.

More: Opinion: Lawmaker's 'rigged' map would steal Ohioans' right to representation

The Ohio Supreme Court is upholding its duty to the law, the Ohio Constitution and the people of Ohio. It is living up to the redistricting reforms Ohioans passed not once, but twice.

In stark contrast, Republican commission members continue to lack the courage to do right by the voters, refusing to uphold their end of the deal and instead passing one partisan map after another. But something has to change.

Two of the Republican commission members must do as our chief justice has done, and that’s simply to do their job to uphold the constitution and pass fair maps that meet the constitutional standard voters expect and deserve. Democracy depends on it.

Zach Klein has served as Columbus city attorney since 2018, .

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Republicans to blame for redistricting mess in Ohio not Supreme Court