House Democrats propose moving primary to June over drawn-out redistricting process
Ohio's partisan primary would be delayed another month to account for the prolonged redistricting process under new legislation introduced by House Democrats.
House Bill 544, sponsored by Reps. Thomas West and Lisa Sobecki, would move the primary from May 3 to June 7. The measure aims to give candidates and election officials ample time to prepare for the election as mapmakers take another stab at drawing legislative and congressional districts.
Voters will cast ballots for governor, U.S. Senate, congressional seats and other races in the spring primary.
The Ohio Supreme Court struck down the initial maps earlier this month, arguing they disproportionately favored Republicans and violated constitutional rules for redistricting. The court will soon review new state House and Senate districts approved over the weekend by GOP members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
"They had two failed attempts at creating constitutional maps, fair districts, and now we’re at a crunch time," West said.
State officials have suggested moving the Feb. 2 filing deadline to accommodate legislative candidates and already pushed the deadline for congressional races to March 3. However, some Republicans and Democrats are hesitant to move the election itself.
"Moving the primary election date is very disruptive, and so that would be an absolute last resort," Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp said Tuesday. "At this point, there has been no discussion about moving the primary."
USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau reporter Titus Wu contributed to this report.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio elections: Bill would move primary to account for redistricting
