Ohio Enacts New Congressional Map; Virginia Advances Redistricting Plan

The map in Ohio will affect two Democratic-leaning congressional seats. In Virginia, there are several steps outstanding before new maps may appear.

Protestors gather in front of the Ohio Statehouse at the State Capitol in Columbus, Ohio, on July 18, 2020. Jeff Dean/AFP via Getty Images

An Ohio panel on Oct. 31 adopted new House maps that could allow Republicans to win two more seats in next year’s midterms, and Virginia lawmakers advanced their own redistricting plan.

Ohio’s Redistricting Commission, a constitutional body empowered to ordain new district maps, unanimously approved new maps for the state. The maps garnered bipartisan support, including from the two Democratic commissioners on the panel. The body was under a constitutional deadline to enact them by Oct. 31.