Though the redistricting saga has dragged on for months, many Ohioans are still engaged because of the impact on public policy that comes from the elections based on those maps.
And among those watching carefully is a central Ohio freshman who’s been watching more carefully than the average teenager.
14-year-old Christopher Brown of Upper Arlington and his dad spent their Sunday at the Ohio Redistricting Commission meeting, watching a presentation from its outside mapmakers.
Brown submitted his own set of maps a few weeks ago.
“I've been interested in this process, and I looked at the constitutional that," Brown said. "While I know I definitely cannot make a map that can be used. It's interesting to see what I can do and look at how the process works and all that.”
Brown said he did maps that showed partisan splits but also even totals of residents in each: “A bit of both. It's proportional, though.”
And as for his view of the whole process – he speaks for a lot of people who’ve been watching.
“I hope they have a map that finally it's going to be over.”
The Ohio Supreme Court set a deadline of Monday for new legislative maps, so they can be submitted on Tuesday to the court for review.
