COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio’s primary election is seven weeks away, and one state senator said he’s introducing legislation to change that.
Given the back-and-forth nature of the legislative and congressional district maps drawn by the Ohio Redistricting Commission — which currently await approval from the Ohio Supreme Court — Sen. Cecil Thomas, a Democrat from Cincinnati, is fighting to move the primary from May 3 to June 28.
“June 28 is not a significant amount of time to get this done in a timely manner, but again it’s up to the majority,” Thomas said.
Thomas, who is calling on fellow lawmakers to co-sponsor his legislation that would push back the primary, said the uncertainty about which districts candidates seeking elected office will campaign in is unfair to voters tasked with choosing who will represent them.
“If we’re serious about the people’s business then we want to give people the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, we want the candidate to have the opportunity to know exactly where his district will be, and the list goes on.”
NBC 4 reached out to Senate President Matt Huffman Monday for comment, and his office said he stands by what he said Thursday.
While speaking on the Senate floor last week, Huffman highlighted the importance of other races and measures that will be on the ballot.
“This isn’t just about inconvenience to the General Assembly,” Huffman said. “There are a whole lot of other people — by the way there are 467 additional local issues on the May 3 ballot.”
Nickie Nelson, of Hilliard, said although it would be helpful to have congressional and state legislative maps nailed down prior to the election, she’s indifferent about Thomas’ bill.
“I would like to know before they vote yes — the districts it would be nice to know but it doesn’t bother me really one way or another,” Nelson said.
While Nelson is indifferent about Thomas’ plan to introduce legislation moving the primary date, Olinda Hissrich said it will help Ohioans.
“I know they’ve been fighting over it for a while, so hopefully they’ll come to a conclusion here soon and figure it out, but yeah, I think it would help. “
The Senate is scheduled to meet this week.