The courts seem to be the only place that Republicans can be challenged in their efforts to maneuver wins no matter what….
A lawsuit challenging Ohio’s congressional map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander can move forward, a federal court ruled Wednesday.
The decision from a three-judge panel is a preliminary victory for the American Civil Liberties Union, five civic groups and 17 Ohio Democratic voters who filed the lawsuit. More significantly, the decision is the first from any lower court after the Supreme Court punted on two major cases involving partisan gerrymandering in June. Allowing the case to move forward is a small encouraging early sign for gerrymandering opponents, signaling that the Supreme Court’s June decisions haven’t closed off the courts to hearing gerrymandering claims.
Republicans controlled Ohio’s redistricting process in 2011 and drew the state’s congressional map to their advantage. In each congressional election this decade, Republicans have won the same 12 of Ohio’s 16 U.S. House seats, even though President Barack Obama carried the state in 2012 and the GOP share of the statewide congressional vote has fluctuated between 51 and 59 percent….