Maureen O’Connor was essentially the only barrier preventing a Republican power grab through gerrymandered maps
last year, O’Connor – a registered Republican – joined Democrats and served as the decisive swing vote blocking Ohio Republicans from enacting maps they had severely distorted to their benefit. Each time the supreme court struck down the maps, Republicans came back with a plan that was just slightly more favorable to Democrats. None passed the court’s muster.
“I was kind of taken aback that they were doing what they were doing, what they were presenting,” O’Connor said in an interview earlier this month, just a few weeks into retirement. “And [then it] became abundantly clear that they were not gonna do it.” In 2022, Ohio voters elected their representatives to the state legislature and congress under an “unconstitutional map”, O’Connor said.
“Nobody in Washington is saying ‘oh you’re not appropriately elected’ that sort of thing. I mean … people moved on,” she said. “Same thing with the house legislature. General assembly. Nobody’s saying ‘oh you’re illegitimate so you can’t vote on this.’ Or we’re not gonna obey your laws. Or you can’t operate. They’re not saying that.”
O’Connor said she found it “troubling” that conservative lawyers who believe in originalism – interpreting the US constitution through its original public meaning – would embrace such an idea. There is little historical evidence to back up the theory behind the case. But she also bristles at the idea of being lumped in with Republicans both in her state and across the country. “Let’s stop right there. I’m a registered Republican. That doesn’t mean it’s my party,” she said. “You know. There’s a lot of different types of Republicans. The direction of the Republican party both statewide and national is by no stretch my party.”
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