Ohio Forced to Hold Two Primaries

Ohio taxpayers will spend an extra $15 million next year to hold two primary elections after congressional leaders couldn’t come up with a compromise on the state’s redistricting map, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

 

The primaries will be held in March and June. State leaders in both parties said they wanted to hold just one primary, but with the Dec. 7 deadline for March’s primary approaching, Republicans set Wednesday as the map deal’s deadline — and no agreement was reached.

 

The two sides remain far apart on an agreement on the redistricting issue. Democrats argue the new lines give Republicans the ability to hold 12 of the 16 congressional district seats. The latest discussions involved a map that landed between the GOP’s proposal and a map created earlier this month by Democrats.

 

Meanwhile, even though there will be two primaries the map issue is not dead.

 

The deadline for the March primary was getting uncomfortably close, but there is still be time to draw up a new map before the deadline comes for the June election, when the congressional and presidential primaries will be held.