Congressional District Boundaries in Ohio: Impact on Voters and Party Representation in the U.S. Congress

On May 3, 2019, a panel of three U.S. Federal court judges in Cincinnati ruled that the boundary lines that have been used since 2011 for all of Ohio’s 16 U.S. Congressional districts are unconstitutional. The court was “…convinced by the evidence that this partisan gerrymander was intentional and effective and that no legitimate justification accounts for its extremity.” The plaintiffs offered testimony and evidence that extreme partisanship was used in 2011 to draw Congressional boundaries, thus denying some voters their constitutional rights. Defendants countered with testimony and evidence that the districts were drawn legally and fairly. Ultimately, the case is likely to end up in the U.S. Supreme Court