COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court sprung into the national spotlight during the now-going-on-one-year redistricting battle. But the court is much more than just that, which is why advocates are urging voters to care about the open seats.

With three seats available this November, Democratic voter Barbara Freidman Yaksic said it is essential for voters to use their voices to elect progressive candidates to the court, so they don’t need to rely on a Republican justice to side with fairness.

"There is no honest and open and full debate because Republicans can ram through whatever they want," Freidman Yaksic said. "That's not how our democracy is supposed to work."

Republican voter John Tamburello agrees the court needs to be fair, saying if voters elected a Republican justice, that justice should reflect their views.

"A rogue, very rogue current Supreme Court with their redistricting, they caused so much chaos with what they did," Tamburello said.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a Republican, had crossed party lines and consistently sided with the Democratic justices on redistricting, upsetting her party. In the end, a federal court sided with the Republicans — overruling the high court.

Redistricting

The Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) continually passed maps that were struck down as unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Ohio Supreme Court rejected legislative maps for being unconstitutional and gerrymandered for a fifth time in May. In the bipartisan majority statement, O'Connor said the Republicans "engaged in a stunning rebuke of the rule of law" by refusing to create legal maps.

Abortion

Arguably the most time-pressing issue at this point, the Ohio Supreme Court gets to decide if abortion laws are constitutional or not.