Friday October 25, 2024
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Meeting Both In-Person and by Zoom
Alternate Room: Mather House 100
Case Western Reserve University
Dear Colleagues:
Gerrymandering is an old problem but that does not mean it’s not a problem.
Legislative districts in Ohio – both for electing members of the state legislature and members of Congress – are clearly designed to give the Republican party a larger share of seats than of the population. Everyone knows why: the division into districts is controlled by the Republicans, who naturally favor themselves.
On first glance the process is extremely complicated, with different rules for congressional seats and the state legislature, but designed to protect minorities. State constitutional amendments adopted in 2015 (for the state legislature) and 2018 (for Congress) require substantial minority approval of any plan that establishes districts for the decade between censuses.
Unfortunately, each process allows the state legislative majority to force through a four-year apportionment plan if the rules for bipartisan agreement on a ten year plan are not met. Rather than compromise much, Republican members of the redistricting bodies insisted on maps the Democrats would not accept. The maps were continually rejected by the state Supreme Court, as Republican Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor sided with Democratic members of the Court. So the 2022 election was under the resulting partisan four-year plan. That will be true of this year’s congressional election.
Elections to the state legislature will be based on a new map adopted by the legislature with bipartisan support in 2023. The political and legal maneuvering leading to this point were dizzying. Here’s a good account. Essentially the Democrats decided the new map was a bit better than the old one but also that they would try to fix the system again with a new constitutional amendment, this year’s Issue 1.
Issue 1 would establish a Citizens Redistricting Commission, similar to the systems in Michigan, Colorado, and some other states. You surely have seen many advertisements on each side.
So how would it function, with what likely effects? Most of us will have to vote on this in less than two weeks, so it seems like a pressing topic. Our two speakers bring undoubted expertise to the table. Both also have spoken to the “Friday Lunch” before. Catherine J. LaCroix spoke in 2017 in her capacity as Adjunct Professor of Law specializing in environmental law. She spoke about EPA in the Trump administration. Mark Salling spoke with us in 2021 about the redistricting going on at the time. As an attorney and election law activist, Professor LaCroix especially can speak to the design and purpose of the plan. As a geographer who specializes in the geographic demographics of Ohio, Dr. Salling can help us understand the distribution of voters and so likely effects of different ways of drawing the lines.
Best wishes for safety and security for you and yours,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies
About Our Guests
For many years Catherine J. LaCroix was an adjunct professor of law at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Professor LaCroix taught classes on Environmental Law, Administrative Law, Federal Courts, Land Use, Advanced Environmental Law, and Appellate Advocacy. Catherine LaCroix’s legal practice at Hogan & Hartson focused on environmental health and safety regulation, including compliance counseling, legislative advocacy, consultation on environmental matters in real estate and other commercial transactions, appellate litigation, and administrative proceedings under a range of federal statutes.
Mark J. Salling is a Senior Fellow and Research Associate in the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs. At the university since 1981, he has served as the Director of the College’s Northern Ohio Data & Information Service (NODIS). He holds a B.A. and Ph.D. in Geography from Kent State University and an M.A. in Geography from the University of Cincinnati. While semi-retired, he stays active in research and public service. |
