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The latest on the battle over redistricting as Republicans faced a critical Ohio Supreme Court deadline was no House or Senate maps.

We'll hear from a Democratic lawmaker who championed redistricting reform and then found himself in the middle of the monthslong fight over the process.

That's coming up this weekend, the state of Ohio.

Welcome to the state of Ohio, I'm Karen Kasler.

It's starting to feel like Groundhog Day a few weeks late with our top story.

The lawmakers charged with drawing new district maps once again came up against a deadline this week.

We start with this overview from State House correspondent Andy Chow.

Once again, the Ohio Redistricting Commission failed to comply with the court's order to adopt new House and Senate district maps.

Instead, Republican commissioners declared an impasse, saying they couldn't find a way to draw new maps that followed the court's instructions without violating other constitutional requirements, such as splitting communities.

But Democratic commissioners rebuked the GOP members of shirking their responsibilities to come up with a new plan.

This is a direct assault.

On our democracy in Ohio voters, and if we do not respect the legitimacy of the courts, then we are disrespecting the rule of law.

There was an uneasiness in the committee room as each GOP commissioner discussed why they would allow the deadline to pass without new maps.

Even Governor Mike DeWine noted that the commission was failing in its duties.

We have an obligation to follow the Ohio Constitution.

We have an obligation to follow the court order.

Whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not.

And three, we have an obligation to produce a map along with disobeying the court order to adopt new maps.

The commission also rejected the plan put forth by Democratic commissioners, then adjourned with hours left to go before the deadline.

The Republican commissioners, who have passed two maps that have been found unconstitutional, continued to claim the Democratic drawn maps did not follow the constitutional requirements for districts to be compact.

I don't believe the commission is able to ascertain a General Assembly district plan in conformity with the provisions of the Ohio Constitution.

In Ohio State law, nor with the Federal Constitution, it's now up to the Supreme Court to decide if the commission should face any consequence for not following the order, such as holding the commission in contempt .

But Friday morning, there is a new twist.

A group of Republicans have filed a lawsuit in federal court trying to move the maps issue to put it before a panel of three federal judges.

The group, which includes Ohio Right to Life president and former Donald Trump delegate Mike on a dacus and Republican former state representative Margaret Condit , says the impasse and the lack of a constitutional fix to the stalemate results in US constitutional violations for voters and candidates.

Voter rights advocates, community organizations and a national democratic group have the ability to file another objection in response to the commission's decision to not Adobe new maps.

Andy Chao, Statehouse News Bureau.

We'll have more on redistricting coming up.

Even as the map drawing process was in turmoil, legislative candidates were required to file their paperwork with their local boards of elections and statewide candidates with the Secretary of State's Office.

While the certified list of candidates comes out after Presidents Day.

The list of those qualified for the ballot was released this week, and it shows a potential seven way primary among Republicans for US Senate.

With Bernie Moreno having dropped out and Bill Graham not qualifying, one Democrat didn't.

Leaving Tim Ryan, Morgan Harper and Tracey Johnson, the down ticket races remain the same, except for the Republican primary for secretary of state.

A parent, Q and on candidate terps a horror mehra's as evidenced by this banner from her recently set up Facebook page, did not qualify, which means incumbent Frank LRO's will face former state representative John Adams this week.

Former House Speaker Bill Batchelder, known for his stories, his humor, his distinctive glasses and decades of service in the chamber, was remembered at the State House.

Batchelder died last weekend at 79.

Batchelder was first elected to the house in 1968 and served 30 years, so he was forced out by term limits.

He returned in 2007, became speaker in 2011 and left after Republicans won a supermajority of seats in 2014.

The conservative lawmaker was one of the founders of the caveman caucus and once wore a dog muzzle on the floor of the House to protest longtime Democratic Speaker Vern Rife.

Once he became speaker, Batchelder fought fellow Republican Governor John Kasich over Medicaid expansion.

But Batchelder eventually put Representative Ross MacGregor on the controlling board.

It was the final vote for it, saying the GOP caucus supported the move.

Batchelder is survived by his wife.

US sixth Circuit Court Judge Alice Batchelder, two children and eight grandchildren covered numbers are still sliding pretty dramatically.

The number of COVID patients in hospitals and in intensive care dropped in numbers not seen since mid-August.

Daily confirmed case numbers have been around hundred for the last week, but deaths reported twice weekly are still in triple digits.

Nearly 6000 people in Ohio have been reported to have died of COVID just so far this year.

More than 14,700 deaths in Ohio from COVID in the last six months.

Since the hospitalization, numbers were as low as they are now.

State lawmakers were back at work this week on bills beyond redistricting.

Republicans passed a bill that would ban the state or local governments from closing gun stores in an emergency, which has not happened in Ohio.

But Republican Representative Scott Whigham said gun stores and other states were temporarily closed in the summer of 2020 because of COVID and protests.

So his bill would make it clear that Ohio's elected officials cannot do the same.

Democrats voted against the bill, citing opposition by police organizations.

The legislation now goes to the Ohio Senate.

Also headed to the Senate is a Republican backed bill post after protest over the killing of George Floyd in 2020 brought some violence and damage near the statehouse.

The bill is aimed at protecting business owners and law enforcement and would create new riot related offenses and boost the penalties for existing ones.

But Democrats say almost all of the activity covered in this measure is already against the law.

The bill is an all out assault on the first Amendment.

Supporters say the bill has been tweaked to make sure it doesn't affect peaceful protesters, but the chief lobbyist for the ACLU.

Of Ohio said this is the worst free speech bill he's ever seen in Ohio.

It passed the House on a party line vote back to the battle over redistricting.

As noted earlier, the Ohio Redistricting Commission disregarded an Ohio Supreme Court order by failing to adopt new legislative maps.

Though the commission's two Democrats proposed approving their maps and were shot down, though Republicans say they don't know what is next.

There was a lawsuit apparently in the works filed on Friday morning, just before the Ohio Supreme Court's deadline for the new House and Senate maps that were supposed to have been approved by midnight Thursday or to be delivered to the court.

Early voting is set to start the first week of April, and ballots for overseas and military voters need to be sent out in the middle of March.

So the uncertainty surrounding the House and Senate maps and the 15 district congressional map that the Ohio Redistricting Commission hasn't even started working on raises more concern about the possibility of a second primary.

Elections officials have cautioned that holding two primaries, one for statewide offices and for the U.S. Senate on May third and another for the State House and Senate and congressional offices, once the maps are approved, will be expensive and confusing for voters.

A spokesman for the Ohio Association of Elections Officials notes the estimated cost of two primaries in 2011 was $15 million, so that's probably way low for the cost a decade later.

Secretary of State and Ohio Redistricting Commission member Frank LRO's address those concerns in a letter to his fellow Republican commission member, Senate President Matt Huffman, saying quote current redistricting litigation over both the General Assembly and Congressional District maps poses a serious threat to the integrity of that process on the present timeline.

I simply ask that you consider the very real damage that can be done to voter confidence by running an election without the time needed to do it correctly.

But Republicans did not put forward any maps at the commission meeting this week, Friday morning, just after that suit was filed.

I spoke with the Ohio Redistricting Commission's Democratic co-chair, Senator Vernon Sykes, who served in both chambers of the Legislature starting in 1983.

He was scheduled for an in-studio interview, but that was changed so he could attend the funeral for former speaker Batchelder, who he calls a friend.

So, so what's next?

I think one of the questions that people have asked is could the commission members be held in contempt of court for disregarding a Supreme Court order?

Could you and the other members of the commission be held in contempt of court?

I would imagine.

I'm not a lawyer or legal scholar, but I know courts have exercised their privilege in the past and it could be implemented here too as well.

Now, House Minority Leader Alison Rousseau and you on the commission had proposed a set of maps and had ruled that those maps be adopted.

I know it's been said.

The commission speaks with one voice.

Could you to be held in contempt of court even though you attempted to move the process forward?

Well, we have documented our attempts to do that, including a vote on the committee, so I think we're insulated from it.

But again, not a lawyer, not a legal scholar.

We had to leave that to the courts to make that decision.

Is the idea of contempt of court a real threat?

Are you concerned about this?

Do you feel there are implications if you are held in contempt of court or if the commission is?

Well, I am not so much concerned about any particular avenue for a remedy.

I'm just anxious that we find a remedy to try to address this issue so we can put it to rest.

There was a lawsuit that was filed just a few minutes before we started talking.

This morning seeks to take the authority beside the constitutionality of the maps from the Ohio Supreme Court and put it before a panel of three federal judges and to declare the second round of maps which the commission had approved and the Supreme Court ruled invalid on February seventh to put them in place for the 2020 election cycle.

Now, Ohio does have a constitutional amendment that gives original jurisdiction to the Ohio Supreme Court.

What do you think of this lawsuit that's just been filed?

I think it's interesting.

We've known all along that we've got multiple branches of government and levels of government in power.

People could possibly seek remedies that any one of those levels.

So it's always been an option available.

In fact, someone already has filed a federal lawsuit, but it was set back to wait and to see what happens with the Supreme Court with Ohio Supreme Court.

So there's already someone's already filed in federal court, so we know this is the option open to the citizens of the state of the United States with the Ohio Redistricting Commission at an impasse.

Is that what you feel the next step would be to take it to another court?

Or do you just keep coming back and trying to come up with a map that meets those constitutional criteria?

I think the Ohio Supreme Court will have some suggestions and they plan to remedy this.

So I'm hopeful that they will have the opportunity to do that last night.

As we're recording this on Friday morning, UN House Speaker Bob Cupp was the co-chair of the redistricting commission.

Along with you and a gaggle of reporters that my Statehouse News Bureau colleague Andy Chow described as a little tense cop and said that no one has produced a constitutional map.

You said that's not true.

How can you and Republican commission members have such different views of what is constitutional and what is not?

Do you think the Ohio Supreme Court has been unclear?

Is the Constitution unclear?

No, I think the Constitution is clear.

It's just that this is all new.

This is something we're looking at to changes in the Ohio Constitution that we've never implemented before.

So we don't have any precedent and we've got to get used to some new concepts and particularly the concept of fairness.

We've been looking at anti gerrymandering all along and we've we've improved the criteria, the technical criteria, but we also this time implemented a new concept representation of fairness.

And that's a portion of the number of districts in favor of the vote share in statewide Partizan elections.

And that fairness concept is something that's difficult for the majority to embrace at this particular time.

It sounds like you're being very polite in saying is the majority just asking for more than what the constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2015 would allow them?

Absolutely.

They have in the past, and the new provision in the Constitution is prohibited to be both in the congressional districts to unduly favor a party.

And with the state legislative districts to meet representation of fairness and proportionality.

The issue.

Republicans have said it's not possible to produce a map that meets all these constitutional criteria.

Of course, the big one that a lot of people focus on is the 54% Republican.

46% Democratic split fans have also said that they feel Democrats and other activists are going to quote Sue till it's blue, meaning they'll keep going on in court until Democrats get enough districts that either lean Democratic or could potentially be swung that way to ensure Democrats win.

They are kind of implying that there is an effort to take this to the courts because they can't.

Democrats aren't going to win otherwise as long as the majority is not going to comply with the Constitution.

Yes, we will continue to seek remedy in the court to make sure that they comply with the new provisions in the Constitution.

But your goal isn't to make Ohio a blue state through court orders.

Absolutely.

The proportionality goals are 54% for the Republican Party and 46% for the Democratic Party.

So no way we're trying to insist even having a majority, but we are insisting that we have our adequate share.

Republicans have also accused Democrats of racial gerrymandering, you said that's baseless and untrue, but isn't gerrymandering really kind of part of the process if you're going to ensure that they're going to be districts that are specifically going to be for Democrats?

Well, you know, that's that's really the whole bone of contention here.

The Constitution requires us to attempt to meet the proportionality requirements into when you attempt to do what, you have to have the intention of doing it so it direct you to produce districts, the number of districts proportional, according to the vote share of the state.

And that's a way to guarantee to says that you're not gerrymandering to make sure you have your adequate share.

No more, no less.

In September, I had heard that there was almost an agreement.

You were close to an agreement.

And did that agreement look anything like the plan that was passed in January?

That that the what I had heard was that Republicans were pushing back on or the Democrats pushed back on a Republican plan or Republicans said, OK, fine, we'll just we'll just keep going forward.

Was there close to an agreement at one point, maybe back in September?

I'm not familiar with that.

And I was involved in all of the negotiations.

I'm not familiar where we were that close.

Was there ever a point in time where it felt like Democrats and Republicans on the commission were close to coming up with a map ?

Was there ever a feeling that, OK, we're almost there?

Or have you been this far apart since the beginning?

Well, I believe with the first when the first maps were not approved by the the state legislative maps not approved by the court, I believe there was an earnest effort by the commission members to send their staffs to work together, and we started looking at different parts of the state starting in the Hamilton County area and the Franklin County area, and I think there was some compromises made.

So I think that's the most collaboration that we've had in this process, and it look like it's going to work.

But it just seems to have reached a point of where it was no longer working positive.

And going forward then, is there any hope that there could be a set of maps produced?

I mean, you've got to produce the congressional map here, too.

So is there any hope for any sort of agreement among the commission members that Republicans and Democrats on the commission?

Well, I think we've made that progress that you referred to because the courts had insisted on it.

And I believe now there's a movement to feel that maybe we may be able to go around the court.

And so as long as there's a feeling there that you can go around the court, I don't know if there's going to be the intentionality of really working seriously to accomplish the goal.

I understand that because federal law allows for people who are running for Congress to just live in the state, they don't have to live in the district that they represent.

If there's no congressional map, is there a possibility?

And again, high redistricting commission has that duty as well now.

Is there a possibility that members of Congress, Ohio's 50 members of Congress coming up would have to run statewide and potentially in a state that voted for Donald Trump in 2016 in 2020 by eight points each time?

Could that mean Ohio could have 15 Republican members of Congress?

You know, there's a lot of different scenarios, and I would think that that would be the last thing that would happen.

So that seems like it would be some way that Democrats would really be motivated to negotiate with Republicans to make sure that a statewide vote for congressional districts would not happen.

We are really motivated.

We're already motivated and motivated a lot because of the new provisions of the Constitution that the people voted on for fairness.

And so we're advocating for fairness, and we're hopeful that we and that's why we're fighting so hard because we want to make sure that that is accomplished once and for all in the state of Ohio.

I want to close with asking you about your history in this process.

You helped with that constitutional amendment before voters in 2015, the one for the state legislative maps and one in 2018 for the congressional maps.

So you've been involved in this process for a very long time, and voters were promised a more transparent process and for Partizan gerrymandering to not be a part of it.

How did we get to this point where some people might argue this is worse than the situation was before the amendments?

Well, you know, again, it's so difficult to make change a very difficult particularly one is left up to partizans.

The commission itself consists of seven members and we're all elected in a Partizan elections.

And so that's that's the that's the problematic problem that we have to deal with in trying to eliminate maybe some of the Partizan considerations .

Is it time to go back to the ballot and go for an independent commission, which was something that was has been rejected by Ohio voters twice?

The Justice O'Connor implied that in part of her opinion and I am also of the opinion that is difficult for partizans to agree on a fair process and not just advocate their interests.

So a ballot issue for an independent commission, you would think, would be something that would be something you'd support a ballot issue.

Yes, and exactly what format it would take place.

I think that's still subject for debate.

But the independent commissions are working in elsewhere, and it could work in Ohio, too.

And finally, did you see this coming?

Did you see?

I mean, when you first got together, obviously you had problems with the census data coming in.

But when the commission met for the first time for this very new process, did you see some of this trouble on the horizon?

I knew it was going to be difficult to wrench control from from those that have the majority and knew it's going to be difficult.

I didn't anticipate that we'd have to court rulings and still at an impasse.

What's the timeline on the congressional map now?

We've got about two and two and a half weeks left for the commission to actually pass a measure, and we hope to start next.

Next week, we announced in our meeting last night, we hope to start next week.

And any thoughts going into that process?

Republicans have proposed map that could be twelve members of the 15 member delegation, meaning Republicans.

Any thoughts on that?

But we have always polls 87 map, and so it's more in line again with the proportion of voters that they have expressed their interest in statewide Partizan elections, and we're going to stick with that.

And is there bad blood on the commission because of what's been happening here in all these months that you've had to work on this and worry about it?

Well, we we battle each other wearing other hats too.

So I don't think this is any any more difficult than trying to deal with the budget.

And that is it for this week for my colleagues at the Statehouse News Bureau of Ohio Public Radio and Television.

Thanks for watching.

Please check out our web site at State News dot org, and you can follow us and the show on Facebook and Twitter.

And please join us again next time for the state of Ohio.

Support for the statewide broadcast of the state of Ohio comes from medical mutual, providing more than 1.4 million Ohioans peace of mind with a selection of health insurance plans online at Med Mutual dot com slash Ohio by the law offices of Porter, Wright, Morris and Arthur LLP, now with eight locations across the country.

Porter Wright is a legal partner with a new perspective to the business community.

More at Porter Wright dot com and from the Ohio Education Association, representing 124,000 members who work to inspire their students to think creatively and experience the joy of learning online at OHEA,org.