The Ohio Redistricting Commission heard from voters clamoring for fair maps. Now what?

From Cincinnati to Cleveland and Mansfield to Zanesville, the refrain was the same: Ohioans want fair legislative and congressional districts – maps that give their preferred candidate a shot. 

They filled rooms, sat on floors and waited for their turns to speak at 10 regional meetings of the Ohio Redistricting Commission. Many were part of the 2015 and 2018 ballot efforts to change how Ohio draws districts for representatives in Washington D.C. and Columbus. 

They came with hopes that mapmaking would be different this time and fears that it would be more of the same. 

"I sincerely hope Ohio mapmakers have heard the message: the people are watching and expect maps that serve them – not the selfish, short-sighted interests of political parties or individual candidates," said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. 

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More:'An embarrassment': Calls for fair legislative maps at Zanesville redistricting hearing

For every voter in suburban Columbus frustrated that he shares a congressional district with Athens, there was a voter in Chillicothe aggravated that she must share a representative with suburbanites in Cincinnati.  

"Ross County is divided into some of the strangest machinations that anyone could contrive, and contrive is exactly how it feels," Bart Henshaw, president of the Chillicothe's League of Women Voters, said at Rio Grande Community College. 

After 10 stops across the state, here's what we learned.

Maps weren't ready

Maps weren't ready for Ohioans to review before the 10 regional meetings took place. Instead, legislative staff members were working on them elsewhere.

The maps were late because U.S. Census data needed to draw legislative districts was late, delayed several months by the COVID-19 pandemic.

That left mapmakers in a time crunch. The first deadline for Ohio House and Senate district maps is Wednesday. Lawmakers have until Sept. 30 to approve a bipartisan, 10-year map for congressional districts.  

More:Ohio is using a new process to draw state, congressional districts. Here's how it works

The result, however, was that everyone who offered feedback did so about hypothetical maps rather than actual plans. 

"It's important that we have public discussion dealing with the actual maps or some maps that are being considered," said Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, who co-chairs the commission. As of Friday, the commission had not agreed on how those maps would be shared with the public and one another. 

This critique of map-less meetings isn't new. In 2011, voting advocates offered the same advice: "It would have been more beneficial to hold regional hearings after proposed maps were available to review and comment upon."  

Decision-makers didn't attend

Attendance was spotty for most of the Ohio Redistricting Commission's members. Their absence was noted by attendees, some of whom expressed frustration about being disrespected. 

"I am addressing my points today specifically to the Republican members of the redistricting commission – or to their designees since so many opted not to be here today," said St. Bernard resident Nicole Klungle who attended the hearing at the University of Cincinnati. "Dear Republicans, we see you."

Gov. Mike DeWine did not attend any of the 10 meetings, choosing instead to visit a practice for the Cincinnati Bengals on one day. DeWine's spokesman called the hearings "staff-level listening tour stops" and said the governor would review his proxy's notes.  

Vernon Sykes attended every session and Ohio Auditor Keith Faber, a Republican, had the second-best attendance record.

"It's important to go through this process, to hear the input and to hear what the local concerns may be," said Faber, a former Ohio Senate president. 

Other members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission sent proxies for many of the stops. Even when commission members were there, they asked few questions of the Ohioans who came to express concerns about past maps.

Many are skeptical 

Former Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper remembers how Republicans drew congressional maps in 2011 – behind closed doors with consultants rather than in public meetings. Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner had a heavy hand in the process.

It's with that history that Pepper expressed skepticism that maps weren't already being drawn behind closed doors. 

"I'm under no illusion that meetings have not been taking place throughout this process in private," Pepper said at the University of Cincinnati. "In case this sounds a little over the top, I am describing exactly what happened 10 years ago." 

Rep. Jessica Miranda, D-Forest Park, filled in for House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes at three hearings. Miranda said it's hard to say whether Republicans are acting in good faith or not.

"Since we don’t know who is drawing them, I don’t even believe I have enough information to answer that question," Miranda said. "I would hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are acting in good faith, but that’s a high hope right now."

Democrats are working on maps privately, too. But Republicans wield more power over the mapmaking process because they control the Ohio Legislature and five of the seven spots on the Ohio Redistricting Commission.

Everyone won't be happy

Many attendees pushed back against maps that favored Republicans, who hold a veto-proof majority in the Ohio Statehouse and most statewide elected spots.

Hamilton County Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou faced backlash for tweeting what some Republicans quietly believe: "Republicans should look out for Republicans when drawing the lines for apportionment. We won."

More:Think you can make a better map? Here's how to submit your redistricting plan

Changes to the Ohio Constitution will prevent some of the slicing and dicing that were hallmarks of the 2011 map. Cleveland and Cincinnati can't be divided. The so-called "snake on the lake" district that extends from Toledo to Cleveland will be exterminated under the new rules.

More:What U.S. Census data tell us about how Ohio's congressional, Statehouse maps will be drawn

“I’m not going to try to defend how some of the current districts look because I don’t think it’s defensible on some of those," said Sen. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark, who filled in for Senate President Matt Huffman. 

But the state has voted Republican in recent elections – backing former President Donald Trump twice by 8 percentage points and electing two Republican governors – so the new maps will reflect that, Hottinger said.  

In the end, everyone won't be happy. 

"I don't know how it is that we can keep people from saying that these maps are gerrymandered because somebody's going to say that who doesn't like whatever result it is that they have," Huffman told Wooster radio station WQKT. "If we follow the Constitution and follow the laws of the state, then we'll have a map that is fair." 

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.