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Maps should be completed

Members of Ohio’s Redistricting Commission were told to get back to work — and do the job right — last week, when the state Supreme Court tossed out the Republican-drawn maps that were submitted.

A majority of the court sided with voting rights advocates and Democratic groups who said the submitted maps were an extreme partisan gerrymander. The maps were predicted to again deliver supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature to the Republican party.

In case you are wondering, the court is made up of four Republicans, including Justice Pat DeWine, and three Democrats. The majority found the submitted maps violated a constitutional amendment against gerrymandering.

Readers will recall, the redistricting commission took up its mission with the urgency of a teenager being asked to do homework over summer break, who knows there will be someone else from whom he or she can copy work at the last minute. They did virtually nothing, until it came time to hand in a map.

So, the state Supreme Court gave them 10 days to give it another try, and retained jurisdiction over whatever map the commission hands them a second time. For their part, members of the commission promised this time they would do the work quickly and transparently. One wonders why that was not their mantra the first time.

Ohioans are counting on the commission to draw up new districts that are an accurate and fair division of the population to be represented in state government. The state Supreme Court ruled the commission let us down once. Here’s hoping they are taking their responsibility to the rest of us seriously, and do not do so again.

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