Redistricting is the most important story no one is covering.

Under Ohio law, does a petition with the appropriate number of signatures suspend a new law until the referendum? That's how it works in Massachusetts.

And, Faux said, "they could find themselves having to run statewide in an at-large election for one of 16 seats. Nobody knows at this point. Everything is up in the air."

I thought federal law prohibited multi-member districts.

ZAZ: Under Ohio law, does a petition with the appropriate number of signatures suspend a new law until the referendum? That's how it works in Massachusetts.

From what I remember with that bulllshiat union bill Kasich passed, that's basically what happens. If that article is correct, the candidates are still required to file for the existing districts as redrawn by the GOP, but since those districts won't exist in the election, they might be forced to run on an open statewide slate like I've been wanting to happen for Congress. I think this is how elections should work - there are a number of seats equal to the electoral vote available each term. Well, the Senate complicates things, but let's assume both Senate seats are up for the moment. Ohio will have 18 EVs next election. So everyone runs on a giant statewide slate. The people with the two highest number of votes received get Senate seats. The next 16 get House seats. Viola, third parties are now viable. Just get one candidate in the state and you should get a seat. Would also keep a very heavy rotation in the Senate.

Also,

The Ohio Supreme Court, which has six Republicans and one Democrat, emphatically disagreed.

LOL activist judges.

FTFA - if legislative Republicans and Democrats can work out a solution

Yeah because that's been the pinnacle of the political landscape lately... cooperation.

just take a look at the map in the article. did the person drawing the line start having some sort of fit?

ginandbacon: Redistricting is the most important story no one is covering.

And when you see districts drawn like that, it's total cuking bullshiat.

cretinbob: ginandbacon: Redistricting is the most important story no one is covering.

And when you see districts drawn like that, it's total cuking bullshiat.

Yup. Although I might have gone with "clucking" BS.

ManateeGag: just take a look at the map in the article. did the person drawing the line start having some sort of fit?

The guy took drawling lessons from Prof. Gerry Mander.

This crap is going on from the top all the way down to the country and municipal level.

In my county, the county board nixed all the plans that would have carved up large portions of the city and redistributed them to rural conservative districts.

The conservative rural voters were pissed because the felt their votes would be diluted by liberal city voters, and the liberal city voters were upset because they felt their votes would be diluted by conservative rural voters.

It's a microcosm of what is happening at the state level.

I'm ready for a disinterested third party to carve up all these districts according to population content, but this might upset the delicate entrenchment of partisanship in the Congress.

//Adding more representatives might help, but it would definitely skew the House to the left, because the new districts would nearly invariably be in urban areas, so the Republicans would be dead set against it.

As soon as the GOP took the state legislature they redrew the state senate and state house districts, so it's like 33-9 or something.

Then they:
ended collective bargaining
passed the nation's most restrictive abortion bill
and redrew the US House districts into this monstrosity.
They ignored 10% unemployment in the state.

Because Ohio is 48% Dem, 48%GOP and 4% independent it's pissed off a lot of people here.

Thank you Koch Bros!

Oh, and are allowing Fracking, and drilling in State parks.

GentDirkly

Massachusetts' constitution requires districts not to cross city or county lines if possible. The courts defer to the legislature in deciding how many lines need to be crossed. You can't produce a plan that crosses fewer borders and make a judge substitute it for the official gerrymander. In effect, that part of the constitution is interpreted as a suggestion to politicians.

uncoveror: An independent body needs to draw congressional districts

Any independent that couldn't be bought would already have his own agenda... sad. Also how are these people chosen? My thought would be random by computer using Drivers License # out of a group of people defined as 'not ever having lived in the state nor within 500 miles of the state for which the lines shall be drawn. further no two people on this committee shall know each other, all names to be kept private' If they're gonna be bribed make the bribers work for it..