From staff and wire reports
COLUMBUS — A directive issued Saturday by the office of Ohio Secretary of State Fran LaRose instructs the state’s 88 county boards of elections to conduct
a statewide primary on Aug. 2.
Voters will select nominees for the offices of state representative, state senator and party central committee members.
The directive came after a divided federal court panel ordered Ohio to hold an Aug. 2 primary using the third set of Statehouse maps approved by the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
That’s despite a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court that invalidated that plan as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.
The panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio said Friday it acted after no map won the approval of the Ohio Redistricting Commission and the state Supreme Court.
The decision was a victory for the Republican-dominated commission, which saw all five of its legislative plans rejected.
All but two counties have already completed programing their balloting systems for that set of maps, LaRose said.