History and Overview of Redistricting in Ohio Prior to the 1960s, many states had not redrawn their state legislative district boundaries for many years, resulting in rural areas being overrepresented and urban and suburban areas being underrepresented. A series of Supreme Court decisions mandated decennial redrawing of state legislative district boundaries and required that representation in both houses of the state legislature be based on population. After these rulings, Ohio established a 99-member State House of Representatives with two-year terms and a 33-member State Senate with staggered four-year terms, with both chambers’ representation based on population. Ohio also adopted a new mechanism — the Reapportionment Board — to redraw the boundaries of the state legislative districts after each decennial census. The Reapportionment Board is composed of five members: the Governor, the Secretary of State, the Auditor of State, one legislative Democrat, and one legislative Republican. Thus, whichever party wins two of the three statewide offices controls the redistricting process for state legislative seats. The redrawing of U.S. House district boundaries is done by an act of the state legislature subject to the approval of the Governor. If one party controls the Ohio House, the Ohio Senate, and the governorship, it can maximize the number of seats drawn so as to favor the dominant party. When there is split control, the two parties must necessarily limit their aspirations and arrive at some sort of compromise in congressional redistricting. District Maps until 2012 U.S. Congress Ohio Senate Ohio House Maps and Ohio’s Representatives 110th U.S. Congress Ohio Senate 127th General Assembly Ohio House 127th General Assembly