Ohio Supreme Court overturns state congressional map, says it 'unduly favors' GOP

The Ohio Supreme Court this week overturned the state's recently passed congressional map, claiming that its lines unfairly favor the Republican party in violation of the state constitution.

The court in a majority opinion said the map "is invalid in its entirety because it unduly favors the Republican Party and disfavors the Democratic Party," a violation of state law.

Justice Michael Donnely wrote in the opinion that the state GOP "generally musters no more than 55 percent of the statewide popular vote," but that the new map leaves it "positioned to reliably win anywhere from 75 percent to 80 percent of the seats in the Ohio congressional delegation." 

"By any rational measure, that skewed result just does not add up," he said. 

"We order the General Assembly to adopt a new congressional-district plan that complies in full with Article XIX of the Ohio Constitution," the justices wrote in the decision.