COLUMBUS, Ohio — Statehouse Democrats said they have yet to hear anything from Republicans about the next steps the Ohio Redistricting Commission will take to redraw new legislative maps. The Ohio Supreme Court gave the commission until Thursday night to adopt a third set of Ohio House and Senate maps.

Spectrum News 1 Legal Analyst Rory Riley-Topping said Republicans on the Ohio Redistricting Commission are playing a dangerous game by appearing to do nothing to fix the state's legislative maps.

"Voting [and] free and fair elections are such a quintessential part of our government and of democracy. Any time you mess with that, you really undermine the integrity of the whole election process," said Riley-Topping.

Commission co-Chair and Ohio House Speaker Robert Cupp, R-Lima, is in charge of setting the schedule for the commission along with Ohio Senate Democrat Vernon Sykes, D-Akron. Last week, Cupp said the earliest the commission could meet is early this week but so far no details have been shared.

Riley-Topping said if the status quo holds, the commission could be legally punished.

"It's kind of like baseball — three strikes and you're out,” she said. “If they, after three tries, still aren't responding, still aren't complying, I think we start to have a more serious conversation about contempt charges.” 

Ohio law says a first offense for contempt is a $250 fine, up to 30 days in jail or both.

"It would certainly send headlines if they took it upon themselves to send members of the redistricting commission to jail for 30 days. I'm not sure that they would go that far, but that is an option that would be on the table," said Riley-Topping.

Some believe all reasonable measures should be taken.

"We will continue to use all options that make sense," said Jen Miller, Executive Director of the League Women Voters of Ohio.

The plaintiffs in the case have a right to file a motion for contempt as well. Miller is not ruling anything out.

"Things that are on the table for us right now are discussing further legal actions as well as new ballot initiatives,” said Miller. “But bottom line, what would be best for Ohio voters, for boards of elections, for all of us would be to simply adopt maps that are constitutional.”

The ACLU of Ohio, another plaintiff in the case, told Spectrum News that it has no plans to ask the court to file contempt charges, but will act as a watchdog over the process. 

 “There is, of course, absolutely no excuse for the commission to continue to disrespect the voters of Ohio by flouting our constitution and our state’s high court. The court has issued three clear rulings striking enacted maps, and the guidance is all to the same effect: Redistricting in Ohio may not be used as an opportunity for those in control of the process to favor their own party,"  Freda Levenson, Legal Director of the ACLU of Ohio, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, last Friday, Democrats introduced its latest proposal for the Ohio House and Senate, favoring Republicans in 54% of the districts. That coincides with the percentage breakdown of how Ohioans have voted over the last 10 years

Riley-Topping said if that is the only action taken between now and Thursday's deadline, the court could also choose to approve the Democrats' maps.

"One of the issues when it comes to the court's involvement is it says that they can't be involved in the drawing of the maps. They aren't involved,” said Riley-Topping. “As you said, the Democrats drew these maps, but the court is in charge of enforcing whether we have maps that comply with the constitutional requirements. So the court could certainly look at those maps, and if they find that they comply with all of the requirements that particular these previous maps have not, It's certainly a possibility that they could embrace those.”

Should that happen, the decision could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Riley-Topping said it is worth pointing out this rabbit hole because there is nothing more important than the fate of these maps.

"It's really unfortunate that we've gotten to this point,” said Riley-Topping. “We can hope for the best with our upcoming deadline on the 17th. But as we've seen leading up to this point, really anything can happen.”

Spectrum News reached out to Speaker Cupp's office, but have not received a response.

A spokesperson for Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio said:

“Governor DeWine believes that he and those involved in redistricting must do all they can to follow the constitution and the recent court decision. His staff has continuously worked on these issues since the decision. Governor DeWine believes the Ohio Redistricting Commission should meet publicly and engage in conversation on these issues. The Governor is prepared to meet as soon as tomorrow if a meeting is properly called and noticed. The Governor believes that the Commission must attempt to comply with the Ohio Constitution and most recent court order regarding a new map. However, Governor DeWine believes significant roadblocks remain to achieving a consensus map. The Commission has yet to see a map that is both proportional and constitutional. Recent proposals do not greatly differ from previous maps that had constitutional issues. The biggest hurdle remains that Ohio’s political geography does not match the proportionality of recent statewide votes. That being said, the Governor believes the Commission should attempt to comply with the recent order.”

A spokesperson for Secretary of State Frank LaRose, R-Ohio, said:

"Secretary LaRose is ready and willing to meet at the call of the co-chairs. He is focused on explaining to the General Assembly the risks associated with trying to run a secure, accurate, and accessible election on the current timeline without the finality of new districts.”

A spokesperson for Auditor Keith Faber, R-Ohio, said:

"Auditor is ready to meet when co-chairs agree on a time."

A spokesperson for the Ohio Senate Republican Caucus said Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, is "waiting on guidance" from the co-chairs.