A10 EZ RE THEWASHINGTONPOST.TUESDAY,NOVEMBER 23 , 2021
publicanthanChabot’s,greweven
more Republican.)
Still,thoseproportionsarevast-
lydifferentfromrecenttop-of-the-
ticketelection results: Statewide,
TrumpbeatBiden 53 percentto
45 percentin2020,and DeWine
beathis Democratic opponent,
50 percent to 46 percent, in 2018.
Themap will be in effect for
onlyfouryears,since fewer than
one-thirdoflegislativeDemocrats
approved it. Theamendment re-
quired thatlevel of support for a
10-yearmap —anincentive to
collaborateonfairlines.TheDem-
ocrats’ only recourse is appealing
to thestate Supreme Court,which
is made up of four Republicans
and threeDemocrats.
Huffman,thestate Senatepres-
ident,and House Speaker Bob
Cupp(R) saytheyhaveworked
within the languageofthe consti-
tutional amendment that says the
maps should “correspond closely”
to voting outcomes.
Republicanshaveargued that
rather thanthe mapsreflecting
the averagemarginbetween the
parties in recent elections, what
matteredwas thatthe GOPhas
wonjustover80percentofthelast
16 statewide elections.That
meanstheyare entitled to that
manyseats, theysaid.
Evidence obtained in alawsuit
brought against newlegislative
mapsfoundthatall three state-
wideGOP officials who sitonthe
redistricting commission dis-
agreed with thatpremise but that
they didnot object to the new
districts.
DeWine, in astatement Satur-
day, said that compared with the
earlierGOP redrawings,the one
he signed“makes the mostprog-
resstoproduceafair, compactand
competitivemap”thatkeepsmore
citiesand counties whole thanin
previous redistrictings.
But at hearings, Ohioanshad
pleadedwithRepublicanstopro-
ducefairerlines.Onewoman,who
hadvolunteeredintheefforttoget
the anti-gerrymandering amend-
menton theballot,cried as she
sharedthatshe felt “stupidthatI
honestlybelieved thatmygovern-
mentwould do therightthing.”
In August, the reaction had
beensimilarasthe redistricting
commissionheldhearingsaround
thestatefocusedonthelegislative
maps. Residents packed one room
attheUniversityofCincinnatiand
overflowedinto asecond. One by
one,residents stoodand implored
the commissionersnot to take
away their voice.
“When looking at those local
candidates, Ididn’t see anyone
whorepresentedme,”saidamulti-
racial universitystudent. “This re-
duces theimpactofmyvote ...
thislackofrepresentationalso
discourages me fromparticipat-
ing in thedemocratic process.”
VanessaEnoch,aDemocrat
wholostabidforCongressin
in agerrymandered districtthat
hugsthe northernedgeofHamil-
ton County,spoke nearthe end,
saying manyCincinnatianshave
beenintentionallysilenced.
“Noone wantstolive in astate
that is oppressive and thatisthe
endresult whendealing withger-
rymandering: Your voices aren’t
heard,” Enoch, whoisBlack, said
in an interview. “Theyhaveusina
chokeholdand theyrefuse to let
go.Theydon’t care as longasthey
hold onto power.”
[email protected]AdrianBlancocontributedtothis
report.has flipped since,and Chabot
wentfromwinninghis elections
narrowly to romping by
20 percentagepoints.
Republicanshavemade little
attempttomaskthe contortions
thatmadethoseeasyvictoriespos-
sible.In2011, mapmakerssliced
throughXavier University; stu-
dents shopping for newclothes at
the UniversityStation bookstore
to weartothe next basketball
gameareinonedistrict,andwhen
cheeringin thearena, they’re in
another.
At an intersection in the pre-
dominantlyBlack areaof Bond
Hill, peopleon one side of the
streetlive in the 1stDistrict;
neighbors on the other side live in
the 2ndDistrict.Farther north,in
aquiet, tree-lined area, adistrict
linecuts right througharanch-
style home,thebedroom in one
districtand the garage in another.
“The processisawful...these
mapsare ahugeslap in the face to
Ohiovoters and theiroverwhelm-
ing supportfor depoliticizing this
process in the constitutional
amendment theypassed,”said
Kathleen Clyde,aformer Demo-
cratic staterepresentative who
this year helped launchthe Ohio
Citizens’ Redistricting Commis-
siontoholdofficial mapdrawers
accountable.
The2018ballot measure that
soughttoensurethatnoparty
could draw lines to theirobvious
political advantage unintention-
allymadethatgoaldifficult,dueto
theconvoluted,easily manipulat-
ed processitset up for approving
future maps. It bounced thejob
betweenthestatelegislatureanda
separateseven-membercommis-
sionthatincludesthreestatewide
officials—the governor,auditor
and secretaryofstate, nowall
Republicans—as well as twoRe-
publicanstatelawmakersandtwo
Democratic ones.
Whenthe legislature missed its
late Septemberdeadline to crafta
House map,itpuntedto thecom-
mission.Thecommissionfailedto
produceamap,missing its end of
October deadline and sending the
matter back to the legislature.
Three days later, Republicans in
the stateSenate and Housere-
leasedseparatecongressional
maps.
Theamendmentdidlimitsome
gerrymanderingbyrequiring that
citiesbekept whole. Thenew Re-
publicanmapsigned on Saturday
by DeWine gives the GOP control
ofnineseatstotwoforDemocrats,
according to aPostanalysis of
2020presidential election results.
Fourseats—includingChabot’s —
appear to be competitive. (Wen-
strup’s district, alreadymoreRe-lic, drafting themin asecret hotel
roomtheycalled“thebunker”and
heedingdemandsfrom national
Republicans, including atop aide
to then-U.S.House SpeakerJohn
A.Boehner(R-Ohio).
Theyear Chabot was defeated,
Barack Obama won Ohio in the
presidential election and Demo-
cratstook 10 congressional seats
to the Republicans’ eight. Four
yearslater,after redistricting,
Obama againwon the state, but
the congressional delegation was
locked in at 12 Republicansand
four Democrats. NotasingleseatChabothasheldtheseatalmost
continuouslysince1995, losing it
onlyonce, to aDemocrat for one
termin2008, before winning it
backinthe GOP wave in 2010.But
his winswhen the district was
located mostly in HamiltonCoun-
ty wererazor-thin,amountingtoa
fewpercentage points.
Whenitcame time to redraw
the linesin2011, Republicansin
the Ohiolegislature worked to en-
sure thatincumbents like him
wereunbeatable and to secure a
fewmore seats. They drewnew
mapswithnoinput fromthe pub-just with the wave of ahand, some
of the hardworkthatyou’vebeen
fightingfor,it’slikeit’slostits
impact.”
TwoconservativeWhiteRepub-
licansrepresentHamiltonCounty,
which votedfor JoeBiden by
16 points. Rep.Steve Chabot’s
1stDistrictcontainsdowntown
Cincinnati andneighborhoodsto
thewest.Asliverofthedistrictjuts
northeastfromthere, creatinga
narrowbridgetocapture all of
conservative Warren County,
which is 82 percentWhite and
voted for Donald Trump by
20 points. Theremainder of the
city, whichincludes easternCin-
cinnati, is in the 2ndDistrict, rep-
resentedbyRep. Brad Wenstrup.
Thedistrict’sdiverseneighbor-
hoodsareswampedbytheRepub-
lican strongholds of Adams,
Brown and Clermont counties.
Kate Schroder,aDemocrat,ran
against Chabotin 2020, hoping
demographic changes since the
lastredistrictingwouldgive her a
shot.She lostbyseven percentage
points,due to strongturnoutin
White neighborhoodsfor Trump
—and the gerrymanderedlines.
“It’sapainful lessontolearn,to
runinadistrictthatisintentional-
ly carved up to makesomevotes
carry moreweightthanothers,”
saidSchroder, who is White.
Cincinnati residentssay the
costshaveextendedbeyonddisen-
franchising voterstoignoringthe
area’s needs.
PeteWitte,aWhiteRepublican,
has livedinthe urban Price Hill
neighborhoodhis entire life. He
runs an engravingand sign print-
ing shopin adowntroddenbuild-
ing on amainthoroughfare,
where storefronts are boardedup,
housesareindisrepairandviolent
crime is rampant.Witte saidthat
20yearsago,whenthedistrictwas
concentratedinHamiltonCounty,
Chabotwas “easilyone of the
hardestworkersofhis day.”But as
his districtgot significantlymore
Republican and centered else-
where, Wittesaid, he “doesn’t get
out therelikeheused to.”
“He’selectedbyeveryneighbor-
hoodexcepttheonesthatneedthe
mostinvestment,”Witte said. “I
would lovetohaveacongressman
who is knee-deep in our [needs]
andhelpsusgetitdone,regardless
of party.”
Chabotdeclinedaninterview
request through spokeswoman
MackenzieMartinez.She said he
hasa“longhistoryofrepresenting
all Cincinnati and Hamilton
Countyresidents. He knows the
neighborhoodsherepresents,and
he workshard to help everyone in
those communities,regardless of
partisanconsiderations.”amap this pastweek,theysplit
Blackvotersanotherway:keeping
allofCincinnatitogetherbutcom-
bining it with distant,conserva-
tiveWhite areas and divvying up
theremaininganddiversepartsof
Hamilton Countybetween
twoother seats. Theresult:
three districtsinwhich Black
Democratic voters are offsetby
White Republicans.Only
one probablywill be competitive.
Themap, votingrights advo-
cates say, violates the stateconsti-
tution,which forbids drawing dis-
trictsthatfavorordisfavorapolit-
icalparty.Legal complaints are
expected to focus on Hamilton
Countybeing “cracked”—the de-
scriptionused by advocates for a
deliberatemaneuver to dilute the
powerof minoritycommunities
by breakingthem up among mul-
tiple districts.
“By splittingthe Blackpopula-
tioninHamiltonCounty, this map
does significant harmtominority
communities. This is not whatthe
peoplewanted.Theyaskedforfair
representation, not racially gerry-
mandered districts,”said state
Sen. CecilThomas,aBlackDemo-
crat who represents Cincinnati.
Republicanscounter thatthey
are operatingwithin thelaw as
they seek to maximize the seats in
GOPhands. Ohio Senate Presi-
dent Matt Huffman(R) said last
TuesdaythatRepublicans“didnot
consider”race when drawingthe
map.
“I understandSenator Thom-
as’spassion on this issue, but he’s
wrong that we simplytried to
draw ...lineshaving to do with
race,”hesaid.
Democratsand advocates say
the newlines areone of themany
ways thatRepublicans in Ohio
and elsewhere have sought to di-
minishthestrengthofDemocrats,
particularlythose who are Black
and Hispanic. In the pastdecade,
theGOP-led Ohiolegislature and
Republican secretariesofstate
have limitedballot drop boxes,
scaled back early voting and
purgedvoter rolls—moves aimed
at Democratic voters.
Republican legislatorsblew
pastdeadlines forproposing a
congressionalmap, operating in
secrettodrawthe lines. Themap
theyeventually passed—which
Gov. Mike DeWine(R) signedon
Saturday —gives themanover-
whelming majorityofthe House
seats, ignoring theamendment’s
requirementthatlinesbedrawn
to reflectthe electoral makeupof
the state.
Fanning the perceptionby
Democratsofariggedsystem is
thatone of theOhio Supreme
Court justices who will hearthe
legal battles over thenew district
lines is DeWine’sson. He has re-
fusedtorecusehimselfdespitehis
father’sintimate role.Atthe same
time,stateRepublicans have de-
mandedthataDemocratic justice
recuseherselfbecauseplaintiffsin
lawsuits againstthe state’smaps
supported hercandidacy.
“Thisisn’taboutlegitimateout-
comes. This isn’tabout serving
democracy. This is aboutpower,
and the Republicans have amulti-
prongedapproachto maintaining
it,”said David Niven,apolitical
scienceprofessorattheUniversity
ofCincinnatiwhoisalliedwiththe
voting rights advocates.
On acrisp Octobermorning,
Dantleysat in the backoffice of
ChristEmmanuel Christian Fel-
lowship in the historically Black
neighborhood of Walnut Hills,
whereout-of-town developers are
buying up housesand converting
theminto condos. Aboutique in-
doorplant shopselling$30 ethi-
cally sourcedcandles hasmoved
in among boarded-up, deteriorat-
ing buildings.
Dantleyhas lived here allhis
life. He raised his family here, and
nowhis daughter is raising her
family here. Developerswanthim
tosell—thechurchpropertytakes
up one side of an entire city block.
If theyrazedthe buildings and
constructed high-rises,the roof-
topswould have sweepingviews
of the downtownskyline.
But he and the church have
beenentwined in thefabric of this
communityfor twogenerations.
Heseeshimselfnotonlyasaspirit-
ualleader,but alsoasacivic one,
whichhas made thehistorical ir-
relevanceof the neighborhood’s
votes even harder to take.
“You workso hard over time to
seethingschange,”Dantley said.
“And it’s almostasifoncethey
begin to progress in away that
seemstobemoredemocratic,that
seemstobemoreegalitarian,then
some technicalityofswitching
lines comesin,”hesaid, his voice
trailingoff.
“It’shard nottofeel defeated by
that,”hecontinued, “because it’s
REDISTRICTINGFROMA
In Ohio,
adistrict
redraw
draws ire
Source: Washington Post analysis, DecisionDeskHQ, TIGER/Line and Ohio SenateCongressionalmap solidifies RepublicanmajorityinOhioJoe Biden +15 +5 +5 DonaldTrump+Solid Dem. Close Solid GOPMargin of victoryinthe 2020presidentialelectionCurrent map(16 districts)Newmap(15 districts)ADRIÁN BLANCO/THEWASHINGTON POSTColumbusCincinnati1st District
+1.7BidenAkronClevelandToledo2nd District
+36 TrumpToledoColumbusClevelandCincinnatiAkron1st District
+3.1 Trump2nd District
+12.8Trump3 3 5 52 4 2 7
MEGANJELINGERFOR THE WASHINGTONPOST
Theskyline of Cincinnati, whereBlackresidentsmakeupalmosthalfthe population, and whichanew congressionalmap combineswithdistant,conservative White areas.LEFT:Bishop Michael DantleyatChristEmmanuelChristianFellowship in Cincinnati’shistorically BlackneighborhoodofWalnut Hills.
RIGHT: Political signs are displayed near the line dividingcongressionaldistricts in Cincinnati. Newly drawnlinesare bringing criticism.