Ohioans rally for fair maps as communities push back against gerrymandering

By Farah Siddiqi

Ohioans are gathering at the Statehouse today for Fair Maps Day, calling on lawmakers to draw congressional districts that better reflect their communities.

Advocates said the new maps will shape representation through 2032.

The Rev. Terry Williams, who pastors in rural Ohio, said gerrymandering has fractured local ties.

"People who literally go to the same churches, go to the same grocery stores, go to the same hospitals do not have the same representatives," Williams pointed out. "Gerrymandering cracks our communities apart it eliminates our ability to hold anyone accountable."

Ohio voters approved redistricting reforms in 2018, requiring bipartisan maps. Because the last plan lacked such support, the state must redraw its congressional districts this year.

Larry Carey, a central Ohio educator, said unfair districts silence voters and make it harder to address urgent needs in schools.

"On the local level, our voices are a little bit more heard but on the state and national level, I believe it is silenced," Carey contended. "I don’t believe Ohio is as red as people think it is, I think it’s more purple. Since the maps have been gerrymandered for so long, voices are being silenced, especially those voices that are in poverty area or of Black and brown people."

The League of Women Voters of Ohio said gerrymandering harms every voter by letting politicians draw safe districts, reducing competition and accountability. Reformers argued a fair map would reflect Ohio’s roughly 55-44 partisan split, while the outcome of today’s process could shape elections for the next decade.