After the Ohio Supreme Court ruled against a third set of redistricting maps for Ohio on Thursday, the May 3 primary election will look much different than past elections.
State lawmakers now have until Tues., March 29 to file their fourth design for a new redistricting map after the first three didn’t comply with the state’s anti-gerrymandering requirements. Amid this, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced the upcoming primary ballot will not include state House + Senate races for all 88 counties in Ohio.
Postponing the primary 🗳
While LaRose said we are “simply out of time” to continue on the previously planned election schedule, he hopes the May 3 election will still happen. Other lawmakers aren’t as optimistic and are pushing to move the election back to June or August. Ultimately if the spring election is postponed, it will be decided by the Ohio General Assembly or a federal court order.
The cost of splitting up 💰
There is also the possibility of splitting the election into two. With a split election, the first election would feature state and local candidates as well as issues. The second part would only have candidates who are bound to voter’s districts and it would buy state officials more time to finalize the redistricting map. This would be costly to taxpayers — estimated to be upwards of $25 million, according to a report by The Dispatch.
Important dates to remember 🗓
Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill extending the deadline for mail-in ballots from those in the military or overseas to Mon., April 4 — in Ohio, this must be done 45 days before an election. The deadline to register to vote is Tues., April 5.