.......But apportionment policies let GOP retain majority

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Ohio Dems win the most total votes for House
But apportionment policies let GOP retain majority, experts say

By STEVE EDER
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Ohio Democrats struck another victory over Republicans on Tuesday.

Democratic candidates for the 99 seats in the Ohio House of Representatives as a group received about 125,000 more votes than the slate of candidates representing the GOP.
But, in reality, that victory holds little significance because Democrats continue to be the minority party in the Statehouse. Republicans hold 53 seats in the 99-member lawmaking body, despite Democrats picking up seven seats in Tuesday's election.
The GOP's ability to keep control of the Ohio House this year was a testament to their ability to construct districts all but guaranteeing a Republican majority. The last time districts could be redrawn, Republicans controlled the state's apportionment board.
The earliest that Ohio districts could be redrawn again is 2011, after the results of the 2010 census show shifts in state population. The districts are settled by a five-member panel consisting of the governor, secretary of state, auditor, and members chosen by elected leaders of both parties.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061111/NEWS09/611110368

[Kolesar]

1. Blade should note that racial gerrymandering is illegal per federal law

I think it was the Voting Rights Act. The southern racists had set districts so that even if black Americans voted, they would be stuck in a small number of districts and get a small number of wins.

As the Voting Rights Act was implemented, Ohio was not even in compliance. There was this stupid convention that every county would get one legislator. There is no reason that small counties need representation in the mode of the US Senate. Ohio had a system where rural Ohio was *way* overrepresented. Ohio fixed that by reducing the number of seats in the legislature and eliminating the preference for each county.

I would expect that we could proceed with a Voting Rights Act lawsuit if we could prove that black Ohioans were put into "majority-minority districts". That actually played out in the South (Mississippi?) in the last few years. I am not sure about winning a lawsuit based on the last reapportionment board just shoving all the Democrats into a few districts.

In the US House of Representatives, I am pretty sure that Stephanie Tubbs-Jones district is a majority-minority district. (I found that data on the internet a few weeks ago). One would need to ask her if she wanted immediate reapportionment. There are cases where black voters prefer majority-minority districts because then at least a few black people get to Congress. Otherwise, they have districts where a Democrat gets elected, but the Democrat is white.

[Sturmrabe]

2. Time for redistricting!

Considering, if my memory serves, all the seats needed to redistrict are now in Dem hands lets get to carving the pie ala Texas!

[Earl from Ohio]

3. But the Ohio Constitution says

once a decade