Finding Ohio’s new congressional districts gets easier

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(The Center Square) – Figuring out Ohio’s seemingly ever-changing congressional districts could be a little easier for voters.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose recently announced an update to the state’s “Find My District” tool on the secretary of state’s website after the Ohio Redistricting Commission passed districts at the end of last month for the second time in four years.

“This is an important resource not only for voters but also for candidates preparing to circulate petitions for the districts they want to represent,” LaRose said in a news release. “Ohioans deserve clarity and transparency in our elections, and that is exactly what we deliver.”

The bipartisan maps were unanimously approved Oct. 31 after nearly two hours of witness testimony, but no discussion among commission members. The district could increase the Republican advantage in Ohio from the current 10-5 to 13-2, which somewhat mirrors the GOP-leaning districts passed without Democratic support in 2022.

Those districts, however, did not produce as many Republican-controlled seats as the party had hoped.

Currently, Republicans hold a 10-5 congressional advantage in the state.

The new maps target three seats: Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-District 13, in northeast Ohio; Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-District 9, in northwest Ohio; and Rep. Grad Landsman, D-District 1, in southwest Ohio.

The new maps will be in place until 2032.

Also, LaRose is hoping artificial intelligence will help county election officials follow the state’s voting rules and procedures.

The Elections Virtual Assistant – or EVA – is expected to be a cyber-advisor to election officials as the state’s first AI-powered election administrator.

“She’s definitely a data nerd and a bit on the wonky side, but I’m not sure I’ve met someone who can answer a common question about election administration as quickly and effectively as EVA,” LaRose said. “Seriously, this is a game-changer for our election officials. For decades, they’ve had to manually search a 524-page rulebook to find basic instructions on everything from managing the voter registration database to conducting a post-election audit. Eva can provide those answers immediately with a simple search prompt.”