Joseph Ax

(Reuters) -The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Friday that the new state congressional map was illegally biased against Republicans and Democrats. It ordered the legislature to redraw it.

It could impact the race for Congress control during this year’s midterm election.

Analysts had predicted that the Republican-backed electoral map would guarantee the party at least 12 and possibly 13 of the 15 state congressional seats. This was partly due to the division of Cincinnati into several districts in order to weaken Democratic voter power.

A 4-3 ruling was made by the high court of Ohio that found that the map violated Ohio Constitution new provisions. These were adopted in 2018 and include language that says that any map “favors, disfavors, or favors a political group or its incumbents.”

Justice Michael Donnelly wrote that the majority of the sentences were correct. That may help explain how an Ohio party, which generally receives no more than 55% of the popular vote in Ohio, is well-positioned to win 75 to 80 percent or more of its seats in the Ohio congressional delegation.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor (a Republican) joined the court’s three Democrats in making up the majority. Three Republican justices voted against the decision, saying that it was overstepping the limits of the power granted to the legislature.