BY SUSAN TEBBEN
Democrats weren’t successful in convincing the Ohio Supreme Court to change the May 3 primary date, according to a Thursday afternoon filing.
The motion was filed by House Minority Leader Allison Russo and state Sen. Vernon Sykes, both members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission, who said moving the primary date would help the commission be able to finish their work without worrying about the election deadlines.
They also said the supreme court had the “inherent” authority to force the change, despite laws that state the General Assembly controls changes to the election dates and times.
The state’s high court disagreed, firmly planting the power of election dates and times on the Ohio legislature.
Justice Patrick Fischer made a point to issue an opinion agreeing with the court decision, and emphasizing the General Assembly’s power to establish the date of the primary election, and its authority to “ease the pressure that the commission’s failure to adopt a constitutional redistricting plan has placed on the secretary of state and on court boards of elections by moving the primary election, should that action become necessary.”
Republicans who responded to the request to move the primary accused Democrats of attempting to “circumvent the power of the General Assembly.”
“They apparently cannot muster enough support for legislation to move the primary election date so they’ve come here asking this court, improperly, to do it,” Secretary of State Frank LaRose told the court.
Legislative measures by other Democratic legislators are still pending in the General Assembly. Senate President Matt Huffman said the temperature of at least the Ohio Senate hasn’t changed, meaning there isn’t enough support for changing the primary. He said the situation is “dynamic,” especially as the Ohio Redistricting Commission continues a week of work to revise legislative maps for the fourth time.
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Also from Ohio Capital Journal:
ACLU unhappily files congressional challenge aiming for 2024, instead of 2022
“Nobody is happy with where we find ourselves today.”
That’s how the ACLU and League of Women Voters feel about filing a lawsuit on congressional maps, but not because they don’t want to fight.
The newest lawsuit, unlike the one filed on behalf of Ohio voters by the National Redistricting Action Fund, requests that problems they see in the most recent congressional map adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission be remedied in time for the 2024 election cycle.
The league, a non-partisan group focused on voting rights in the state, said they aren’t focused on the 2022 election in this case because there is simply no time for true results.
“While we do have serious concerns with the constitutional violations in congressional districts one and 15; still, at some point soon, an election will be held,” said Freda Levenson, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio, in a statement announcing the new lawsuit. “Whether it is held May 3 or at some later date, it is approaching soon and voters in Ohio are entitled to an orderly election.” READ MORE
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