COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohioans will vote this November on Issue 1, a redistricting proposal that could dramatically shift the balance of power in the state Legislature.
I spent a day with the proponents and a day with the opponents. Here’s what you need to know about constitutional reform.
What am I voting for?
Ohio will be voting on whether politicians should be removed from the redistricting process.
Ohio lawmakers are currently drawing maps that will directly affect them and their colleagues.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) is made up of seven seats. In the state Legislature, two seats are always allocated to Republicans and two to Democrats. The remaining three seats include the Governor, Secretary of State, and Auditor.
That led to a messy redistricting process in Ohio in 2022, with the bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court invalidating seven different maps passed by Republican members of the commission, saying they had drawn the lines to unfairly benefit their party.
A YES vote on Issue 1 would create a 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (OCRC) made up of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who broadly represent the state’s various geographic regions and demographics.
The law bars current or former politicians, party officials, lobbyists and major political donors from serving on the committee.
The bill requires that districts be drawn fairly and equitably by making it unconstitutional to draw districts that discriminate against or favor certain parties or politicians, and requires that the commission operate under an open and independent process.
A bipartisan review committee consisting of two Republicans and two Democrats will select the members through a thorough application process.
Commissioners draw maps based on federal law and taking into account data on partisan trends from past elections. They aim to ensure that districts are reasonably evenly populated and that communities of interest are represented.
Voting NO on Issue 1 means rejecting the independent commission’s recommendations and maintaining the current setup.
Supporter
Supporters of the amendment say this isn’t a battle between Democrats and Republicans, but between people and politicians.
Outside the Shaker Heights Public Library, Annette Tucker Sutherland spent hours in the heat talking to potential voters.
“I’m here trying to encourage everyone to ban redistricting in Ohio and take back control of our districts from the politicians,” Tucker Sutherland told me.
She is part of Citizens Not Politicians, a bipartisan coalition that proposed the constitutional amendment.
The organization is made up of about 100 organizations, from labor unions to religious groups, and 70 business leaders of various political persuasions, all committed to stopping gerrymandering, the deliberate manipulation of borders to favor a political party.
Former Republican Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is the face of the campaign, showing that this is not a partisan issue.
“By putting this amendment on the ballot, Ohioans have a chance to take back power from self-serving politicians who ignore the needs of their constituents and want to stay in power past their deadlines,” O’Connor said.
One of the reasons Tucker Sutherland said the measure was needed was because of 2011 Senate Bill 5, which eliminated or severely limited workers’ collective bargaining rights. The bill became law despite massive protests, and outraged voters called a referendum that passed overwhelmingly.
SB 5 was one of the most extreme examples of voter backlash, but people headed to the polls three times to make their voices heard in 2023.
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Democratic politicians, organizations ranging from businesses to police, and even Republicans have criticized the Ohio GOP majority for acting against democracy: going against the will of voters on anti-gerrymandering reforms passed in 2015 and 2018, opposing a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court that has struck down gerrymandered maps seven times, trying to overturn the people’s voice on abortion, marijuana, and voting rights (with special elections to make it harder to amend the constitution), failing for decades to pass constitutional funding for public schools, and a laundry list of other fights that Democrats and independents seem to lose time and time again because they say the district maps are gerrymandered.
What united Democrats and Republicans in anger at state lawmakers was a special election in August 2023. Opponents rejected Issue 1, which would have made it harder to amend the state constitution. The measure failed by a vote of 57-43%.
Twenty-two of Ohio’s 88 counties voted against Proposition 1, accounting for approximately 60% of the vote. Twelve counties are classified as urban, six as partially rural, and four as completely rural. Fifteen of the 22 counties voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Supporters argue that issues like SB5 and the August 2023 special election should never have happened in the first place because of strong public opposition.
Cuyahoga County voter James Posey said he feels his voice isn’t being heard at the state level under the current system.
“Do you think they represent you and your interests?” I asked him.
“They didn’t, they really didn’t,” Posey said.
That’s why he votes in favor.
“Ending redistricting is the key to making things fairer in Ohio and getting us back to having a Legislature that listens to all voters and is committed to bipartisan collaboration,” Tucker Sutherland said.
Citizens will be able to see the map-making process in action, she added.
“There will be a completely open and transparent process,” she said. “There will be a lot of rules in place to ensure that the districts are ultimately as fair as possible.”
He said the government should work for the benefit of all people, not for his own advancement.
“This has been going on for a long time, and there’s a purpose behind it,” Posey said. “And that purpose is to keep those in power in power, and that’s the problem.”
Opponent
Moving south to Medina County, opponents argue that Issue 1 would actually lead to less accountability.
“We don’t want more bureaucracy, and this bill does just that,” said former Republican Rep. Jim Renacci.
While sitting with me in Wadsworth, Renacci agreed that the redistricting system needs to change, but said Issue 1 will create more problems.
“Everybody’s political, but is this system supposed to find the 15 people who are apolitical?” he asked. “I don’t know if it can do that.”
Gary Fox, a voter who recently ran for Ohio House of Representatives, is most concerned that commissioners can’t be held accountable as easily as lawmakers.
He was unsuccessful in beating incumbent state Rep. Sharon Ray, R-Wadsworth, but said it is the citizens’ choice to vote to remove a member from office. Regarding issue 1, only the commission can remove a member from office.
“Abolishing a system in which democratically elected people are responsible for drawing maps and replacing them with activists and bureaucrats who are not accountable to anyone and cannot be fired is like jumping from the frying pan into the fire,” Fox told me.
Medina County Councilman Bruce Christopher, a Republican, raised financial concerns.
Each committee member will receive a compensation of $125 per day worked, plus reimbursement for travel expenses.
“It’s your tax money and it’s my tax money,” Christopher said, adding that any costs associated with the litigation – meaning Ohio Supreme Court justices on working hours – would also be paid for with taxpayer money.
Anyone unhappy with the maps proposed by the commission has a remedy: Ohioans can ask for a review of the plan, and the state Supreme Court can use an “expedited” procedure to appoint two “special masters” (mapping experts) to hold hearings and conduct a detailed review of whether the maps comply with the law. Anyone who is not satisfied with the masters’ ruling can further challenge it, which will lead to further hearings and review by the Supreme Court.
Fox said it’s still not perfect because the Supreme Court, which has struck down 2021-22 maps seven times, was “politically motivated.”
“I think that was what the activist judges were doing, one of them a Republican, who was pushing for redistricting,” he added.
Renacci said if voters reject Prop. 1, this bureaucratic mess for the commission could be avoided.
“This (current) system isn’t working, and adding new bureaucracy isn’t working,” he said, “but let’s find a way to put it in the hands of the people.”
I looked at 2015 and 2018 and explained that voters overwhelmingly chose redistricting reform to prevent fraudulent districting but left it to government authority.
Advocates say unfair district drawing is still rampant, despite them calling on lawmakers at least twice to stop it.
I asked about constituents who want bureaucracy because they can’t trust politicians.
“Democrats decided they didn’t like it because there weren’t enough people at the table. That’s the real key,” Renacci responded. “If it were reversed, Republicans wouldn’t like it either.”
He brought up the fact that Democrats drew unfair districts decades ago, but now that they’re no longer in power, they hate the way they did it.
“It’s an ongoing system and it’s an ongoing battle because of who’s in charge,” he added. “Ultimately, I think if you leave this in the hands of bureaucracy, someone is going to say, ‘Okay, no one’s in charge, and it’s getting worse because there’s no accountability.'”
Despite his rivalry with Gov. Mike DeWine, Renacci acknowledged that he agrees with the governor’s views on Issue 1.
If voters reject Proposition 1, lawmakers could have further discussions about how to make the system work, he said.
Governor DeWine is adamantly opposed to an anti-redistricting constitutional amendment on the November ballot, saying he will craft an alternative proposal that voters can have “confidence in.”
Governor DeWine has said he opposes anti-gerrymandering measures on the November ballot and would like to put a new proposal on the ballot.
RELATED: Gov. DeWine opposes anti-gerrymandering measure on November ballot, says he wants to put new proposal on the ballot
Renacci believes AI technology can help draw maps fairly.
“Let’s find someone who is competent and capable to sit in front of a computer and do this job for the benefit of Ohioans,” he said.
confusion
Both sides are currently facing problems: The campaign is too chaotic, some voters told me.
Even the signs and slogans are similar.
WEWS
Supporters of Issue 1 claim that this is a tactic by the opposition, who are trying to fool people because they know neither side will lose the vote. Opponents deny this.
So, to put it very clearly,
Vote yes if you want to establish a 15-member independent commission for redistricting, which would remove politicians from the process.
A “no” vote would keep the status quo with our current system of elected office, and there’s also the possibility that Republicans will try to come up with another option to put on the ballot.
Follow WEWS Statehouse Reporter Morgan Trau Twitter And Facebook.
