A Blow Is Dealt To Rigged Elections - Unanimous Panel Of Federal Judges Declare Ohio Congressional Map Unconstitutional

A unanimous panel of federal judges on Friday declared Ohio’s Republican-drawn congressional map unconstitutional, a ruling similar to those in a number of states where partisan gerrymandering has been outlawed.

The action comes as the Supreme Court is deciding whether judges even have a role in such decisions. The high court has never found lawmakers’ efforts to preserve their party’s political power so severe that it violates the constitutional rights of voters. The justices’ decision is expected in June.

[Kavanaugh the new play as Supreme Court again considers gerrymandering]

Last month, a similar panel of federal judges in Michigan found that some of that state’s legislative and congressional maps were unconstitutional gerrymanders, and it appeared the lower courts were attempting to send a message to the high court.

“Judges—and justices—must act in accordance with their obligation to vindicate the constitutional rights of those harmed by partisan gerrymandering,” Judge Eric L. Clay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit wrote in the Michigan case.

The Ohio court took a similar approach in Friday’s decision.

“We join the other federal courts that have held partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional and developed substantially similar standards for adjudicating such claims,” the panel said in a unanimous ruling.

“We are convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity.”

The judges said the district lines were drawn by Republican legislators to entrench Republican control, and that violated the rights of Democratic voters. The maps drawn after the 2010 Census have consistently resulted in a 12-4 Republican advantage in Ohio’s delegation.

The Supreme Court in March heard arguments in similar cases from North Carolina--where judges found Republicans manipulated the maps to their advantage--and Maryland, where Democratic lawmakers drew a district that resulted in a loss for a longtime Republican congressman.

At the oral arguments, the conservative justices who make up the Supreme Court’s majority seemed skeptical that the court could find a manageable test for deciding when politics plays an unconstitutional role in mapdrawing.

- Robert Barnes