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Ohio's Supreme Court on Tuesday sent legislators back to the drawing board, giving them 30 days to redraw new congressional maps using data from the 2020 census.
If the state legislature cannot come up with new maps in 30 days, the task will fall to the Ohio Redistricting Commission, a group of seven officials including the governor and the secretary of state.
Regardless, November's general election will be held under the lines the court just invalidated. Those were the lines under which the state held May congressional primaries, and the groups who sued weren't asking for any changes before the 2024 elections.
The previously submitted maps did not stand up to anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state Constitution, the court ruled in a 4-3 decision.
"We hold that the March 2 plan unduly favors the Republican Party and disfavors the Democratic Party," the court's decision says.
The rejected map featured 15 districts, down one from previous maps due to population loss. Passed by Ohio Republicans, that map also ensured Republicans would likely hold onto 10 seats in any given election, according to an analysis from the Columbus Dispatch.
The rejected map also flipped one district, currently held by Republican Steve Chabot, from solidly Republican to slightly more Democratic, according to the same analysis from the Columbus Dispatch.
It also weakened Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur's hold on her seat, leaving it with just a slight Democratic advantage, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
