(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 9/20/2022) – Last Friday, CAIR-Ohio participated in a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse ahead of the next congressional map deadline, which the Ohio Redistricting Commission chose to ignore.
Tag: #redistricting
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 6/8/2022) – The Ohio Redistricting Commission has yet again failed to convene, schedule any public hearings, provide any sort of fair map, or adhere to any of the requirements of the ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 5/11/2022) – On Tuesday, May 10, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) and other petitioners in the Ohio Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission lawsuit continued fighting back against unconstitutional state legislative maps. The petitioners filed a motion asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reject the latest round of maps and hold the Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) in contempt for yet again blatantly violating the constitution and prior rulings.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 3/29/2022) Last Friday, CAIR-Ohio participated in a press conference outside the Ohio Statehouse to reinforce that the fight for fair maps in 2022 does not stop until the voters win.
“It is critical, as a community that often experiences discrimination – and is often ignored or vilified – that we have access to fair representation and our votes are not diluted through gerrymandering.” -CAIR-Ohio Acting Executive Director Amina Barhumi
CAIR-Ohio is a proud member of the Equal Districts Coalition, a group of over 30 Ohio advocacy organizations and labor unions engaged in the redistricting process.
Watch full press conference here.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 3/3/2022) Last week, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) and other petitioners from Ohio Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission filed a motion to intervene as plaintiffs in Gonidakis et al v. Ohio Redistricting Commission and Frank Larose, a lawsuit filed in federal court. Mike Gonidakis, the president of Ohio Right to Life, and the other plaintiffs in the federal case seek to compel the Ohio Secretary of State to accept a recent version of legislative maps drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 2/9/2021) — This week, the Ohio Supreme Court again struck down the unconstitutional state Senate and House maps adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 1/27/2022)— CAIR-Ohio and the co-plaintiffs in Ohio Organizing Collaborative v. Ohio Redistricting Commission filed objections on Jan. 25 asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reject the Ohio Redistricting Commission’s redrawn state legislative maps as they fail to meet the constitutional standards against partisan gerrymandering.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 1/14/2022) The Ohio Supreme Court has now ruled both the state legislative maps AND the congressional map are unconstitutional because of partisan gerrymandering and must be redrawn. The Ohio General Assembly has 30 days to right this wrong – ample time to use the thousands of testimonials and maps submitted from across the state in redrawing fair maps.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 1/13/2022) — The Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) welcomes Wednesday’s ruling in the Ohio Supreme Court striking down gerrymandered state House and Senate district maps, ruling 4-3 that the maps are unconstitutional. The ruling affirms the maps do not meet the anti-gerrymandering rules passed by voters in 2015 and requires maps to be redrawn to meet constitutional provisions.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 12/09/2021) — On Wednesday, Dec. 8, oral arguments for the redistricting lawsuit filed on behalf of the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) and other plaintiffs were heard at the Ohio Supreme Court.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law and the law firm Reed Smith filed the suit on behalf of CAIR-Ohio and other plaintiffs in September to challenge unconstitutional and discriminatory state legislative maps. Justices can now either affirm the maps or rule that the Ohio Redistricting Commission must go back to the drawing board to meet constitutional requirements.
By: Tala Dahbour, CAIR-Ohio Policy Director
Muslim Americans have made great strides in the last decade in reaching local, state, and federal halls of power. In the face of rampant anti-Muslim sentiment following 9/11 and blatantly discriminatory executive orders of the Trump administration, Muslims across the country have organized to combat racial and religious discrimination. Nonetheless, in Ohio, severely gerrymandered maps drawn at the expense of Muslim communities threaten to perpetuate the political exclusion of Muslim voices.
CAIR-Ohio denounces congressional districts approved by Gov. DeWine over the weekend.
The approved map does not reflect Ohio voting preferences (55% republican, 45% democrat) and overwhelmingly favors one political party. This map and process to stifle citizen voices fail to uphold the essence of bipartisan reforms Ohioans voted for in 2018. The map cracks apart communities of color, dividing our neighborhoods and pulling together parts of the state that don’t belong in the same districts.
Ohio Muslims and all Ohioans deserve better and we will continue to fight for fair maps and to bring an end to gerrymandering in Ohio.
Redistricting resources and information can be found here.
For questions, contact CAIR-Ohio Community Affairs Director Whitney Siddiqi: wsiddiqi@cair.com | 513-281-8200
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 11/17/2021) — On Friday, Nov. 12, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) joined other organizations of the Equal Districts Coalition at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
Amina Barhumi, CAIR-Ohio’s Outreach Director and a member of the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission, testified before a joint committee in opposition to the proposed Senate map in Senate Bill 258.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 11/10/2021) – On Thursday, November 4, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) provided testimony on proposed maps in public hearings at the Ohio Statehouse.
(COLUMBUS, OHIO 11/03/2021) — On Thursday, October 28, the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) joined other organizations of the Fair Districts Coalition at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
Tala Dahbour, CAIR-Ohio’s Policy Director was in attendance and addressed the attendees of the rally.
“The suppression of political power is especially harmful for communities who are racial and religious minorities and experience institutional discrimination at a higher rate than others. But fair districts return power to the people. That’s why, even though our state legislative maps are unfair and unconstitutional, we won’t give up this fight”, said Dahbour.
For more information and updates from Fair Districts Ohio, click here.
Additional redistricting resources and information can be found here.
For questions, contact CAIR-Ohio Community Affairs Director Whitney Siddiqi: wsiddiqi@cair.com | 513-281-8200