Where's our Obi-Wan Kenobi? Ohio Republican playing role of evil Galactic Empire |Opinion
Zachary Geiger is from Canton, and is a current sophomore at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a part of The Write to Vote Project, which helps students publish op-eds related to voting and voting rights.
Over the past few months, I have renewed my love for all-things "Star Wars," re-watching the movies and TV shows.
While this franchise takes place in a galaxy far, far away, one scene from "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"feels as if it is happening in Ohio today.
As the democratic Republic is transformed into the evil Galactic Empire, amid the rancorous cheering of fellow senators, Sen. Padmé Amidala exasperatedly comments, “So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.”
While it might seem reductive to apply the events of a science-fiction movie to our state’s politics, Ohio Republicans have gerrymandered their way to veto-proof supermajorities in the House and Senate in a manner that threatens our democracy.
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In accordance with an Ohio constitutional amendment, the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which draws the state legislative districts, is prohibited from creating districts in a way “primarily to favor or disfavor a political party.”
Of course, given the partisan bias of the commission with five Republicans and only two Democrats, Republicans were never committed to drawing districts that fairly represent Ohio’s electorate.
As evidence of their desire to create biased districts, the Republicans on the commission, without support from either Democrat, approved a map in late 2021 that would allow state Republicans to win at least 60 percent of the seats in the state legislature, which would provide Republicans with supermajorities in both chambers in the Ohio General Assembly.
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Fortunately, the Ohio Supreme Court blocked Republican attempts to gerrymander the state. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that the map adopted by Ohio Republicans did not adhere to the Ohio Constitution.
The majority opinion explained that, since the Republican Party “generally musters no more than 55% of the statewide popular vote,” Ohio Republicans cannot constitutionally create a map that all but guarantees the party supermajorities in the state legislature.
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After this ruling, the map-drawing process was sent back to the Ohio Redistricting Commission. Not having learned from their mistakes, Republicans attempted to create politically-biased state legislative districts three additional times. Unsurprisingly, and in what feels like repeated moments of déjà vu, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected two of the maps, and the court’s decision on the most recent map is pending.
The court’s continued rejection of these partisan maps is a triumph for Ohio’s democratic process. However, one of the unconstitutional legislative maps is being used in the 2022 midterms, since a fairer map cannot be enacted in time.
On Aug. 2, primary elections were held for the Ohio legislature using a map previously struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court. This unconstitutional map will be used until 2024, when the commission will again be tasked with creating unbiased legislative districts.
The blame for the use of an unconstitutional map in the upcoming election can be placed squarely at the commission Republicans’ feet. Following the rejection of their first map, they should have worked with the two Democrats on the commission to create a map that favored neither party. Unfortunately, they were more interested in giving Republicans in the state the best chance to capture as many seats in the legislature as possible.
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In creating legislative maps that unfairly benefit their party, the Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission are more committed to political power than democracy. They are not interested in the will of Ohio voters; they are interested in statewide political dominance.
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After the rise of the Galactic Empire in "Star Wars," the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi angrily exclaims, “My allegiance is to the Republic, to democracy!”
I wish that Ohio Republicans felt the same way.
Zachary Geiger is from Canton, and is a current sophomore at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a part of The Write to Vote Project, which helps students publish op-eds related to voting and voting rights.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: What redistricting says about Ohio Republican and democracy?
