Ohio Republicans unveil new congressional map. See it here.

After working behind closed doors, Ohio Republicans late Monday unveiled a new congressional map that could be approved by state lawmakers this week and then sent to the governor for his signature.

The timing leaves very little opportunity for the public to weigh in on it.

Senate Republicans said in a press release that the new map offers seven competitive districts, divides only 12 counties and keeps seven of Ohio's eight biggest cities whole.

“We listened to the constructive concerns and input from people around the state,” said state Sen. Rob McColley. “They asked for competitive districts, they asked for their hometowns to be kept whole, and they asked for the constitution to be followed. We delivered.”

The only two safe Democratic districts are in Columbus and Cleveland.

Under the latest version, Rep. Jim Jordan's Champaign County would not be combined with Franklin County. GOP-heavy Warren County would be in a district with the city of Cincinnati.

Ohio lawmakers are tasked with drawing lines for the state's 15 congressional districts, which will be used to elect the people who represent the state in the U.S. House of Representatives. Ohio lost a seat after the U.S. Census data showed the state grew slower than the nation. 

Ohio redistricting:Republicans propose congressional district maps advantaging the GOP

Redistricting:Ohio House Democrats propose congressional map

Democratic plans kept major Ohio cities, often Democratic strongholds, within their counties rather than splitting them with surrounding rural areas. That led to maps that favored Republicans by either an 8-7 or 9-6 split. 

The Senate Local Government and Elections committee is slated to meet at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday with a possible vote on its GOP map. The Senate has a full session later in the day, though the agenda has not yet been set.

The Ohio House of Representatives has sessions scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The House Government Oversight Committee is scheduled to consider the congressional map bill at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Neither chamber is meeting the week of the Thanksgiving holiday. The deadline to finish the map is Nov. 30.

For the map to last 10 years, 60% of lawmakers in each chamber and 33% of Democrats. That amounts to 12 Democrats in the House and three in the Senate. 

Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, said he wants to reach a compromise, but he can't ask his members to vote for a map they haven't seen.

"Nobody wants a four-year map," Yuko said. "If it’s doable, if it’s palatable, then I’ll whip my caucus."

What's palatable for Democrats? Not a map that favors Republicans, 13-2, Yuko said. 

Redistricting:The threat of a 4-year map was supposed to inspire Ohio redistricting compromise. It didn't

Court challenge likely 

Ohio voters approved changes in 2018 that were aimed at preventing maps that unnecessarily favored one party over the other. For Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, the mapmaking process hasn't lived up to voters' expectations. 

"It’s incredibly disheartening," Turcer said of calling a possible vote with little public notice. She said the move discourages public comment. 

Redistricting:Frustrated Ohioans, furious Jim Jordan: Ohio's congressional maps have a long way to go

If Republicans pass a four-year map without sufficient Democratic support, they must provide documentation of why their bill does not unduly favor or disfavor a political party or its incumbents and why it doesn't unnecessarily split counties and municipalities.

Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, has the option to sign or veto the bill. He has been briefed on the latest Republican-backed map.

Legal challenges are expected if Republicans pass a four-year map. Those could be filed in the Ohio Supreme Court or, if a violation of the Voting Rights Act occurred, in federal court. 

The state House and Senate maps, passed mid-September, are facing three challenges in the state's top court. Those maps maintained a veto-proof majority for the GOP in both chambers.

Republican Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor is considered the swing vote on a court that includes four Republicans and three Democrats. 

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

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