Redistricting in Ohio

Here’s how new congressional maps shift voting power in every state

By Janie Boschma, Renée Rigdon, Byron Manley and Ethan Cohen, CNN. Additional reporting and design by Melissa DePalo, Eleanor Stubbs and Christopher Hickey, CNN

Last updated: November 8, 2022

Every 10 years, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts to reflect new population counts from the census. Ohio will now have 15 House districts, losing one after the 2020 census.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission approved a congressional map for the state, but because it passed without Democratic support, the new lines will only be in place for four years, rather than a full decade. The new map gives Republicans an advantage in at least nine seats and gives Democrats two safe House districts in Ohio: the 3rd District, home to Columbus, and the 11th, home to Cleveland.

The redistricting commission was tasked with drawing a new congressional map after the first map — passed by the legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Mike DeWine — was invalidated by the Ohio Supreme Court in January.

How the districts voted in 2020, by presidential vote margin in percentage points

Democratic

30+
15+
5+

Competitive

Within 5

Republican

5+
15+
30+

Old map 16 districts

In the old congressional map, there are 3 Democratic, 3 competitive and 10 Republican districts.

Change

Change in Democratic districts: 0

Change in Competitive districts: 0

Change in Republican districts: -1-1R

New map 15 districts(-1)

In the new congressional map, there are 3 Democratic, 3 competitive and 9 Republican districts.

How the new map shifts voting power by demographic

Ohio loses one of its 16 seats in the House after the 2020 census and the new boundaries eliminate its only Black-majority seat, the 11th District. The district had previously included Akron and Cleveland, but the new map moves Akron into another district. The Republican-drawn map is in place for the next four years instead of 10 because it passed without Democratic support.

Number of White-majority districts
Old Map
14
New Map
14
A chart showing the number of White-majority districts has remained the same with 14.
Black-majority districts
1
0
A chart showing the number of Black-majority districts has decreased by 1, for a total of 0
No group has majority
1
1
A chart showing the number of districts where no group has a majority has remained the same with 1.

The group that represents the majority in each district

White
Black
No group has majority

About the data

Sources: US Census Bureau, Edison Research, each state’s legislature or other redistricting authority

Methodology note: Block-level demographic data from the 2020 census is reaggregated into each new district’s boundaries.