Republicans question Ohio redistricting petitions

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Republican Party is questioning the validity of some signatures gathered by a voter group that's pushing a fall ballot proposal aimed at taking away elected officials' power to draw legislative and congressional districts.

The state alters legislative and U.S. House district boundaries every 10 years to reflect population shifts. New maps were put in place for this year's elections.

The Voters First coalition has submitted to state officials more than 430,000 signatures to get its constitutional amendment before voters in November. It needs more than 385,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Among other issues, the GOP claims a paid circulator was found lying about the number of signatures submitted to the Defiance County Board of Elections.

Voters First had no immediate comment.