Voters in Ohio are tasked this Election Day with determining how congressional and state legislative districts are drawn.
Issue 1 proposes an amendment to the Ohio constitution that would replace the current Redistricting Commission system in the state.
Ohio voters passed gerrymandering reform in 2018 that set up a Redistricting Commission made up of state government officials. The commission is made up of seven members: two Republican and Democrats from each chamber of the state legislature, along with the governor, secretary of state and auditor.
Republicans have 5-2 control over the commission. After congressional and state legislative maps were redrawn following the 2020 census, the commission battled with the Ohio Supreme Court on making districts that weren’t gerrymandered. The court twice ruled in 2021 and 2022 that maps were unconstitutionally gerrymandered.
The commission refused in 2022 to follow the latter of the state court’s rulings and was able to run out the clock before federal elections.
Issue 1 proposes would remove politicians from the redistricting process and replace them with a 15-person commission made of five individuals who register as Republican, five who register as Democrats five who are Independents. It would also ban former politicians, political party officials, lobbyists and large political donors.
The commission would work to draw maps based on federal law, considering the histories of these districts. The goal is to create districts that have equal population that maintains interests of each community.
There are many concerns raised by those who oppose Issue 1, including the wording of the legislation of this proposition. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has been very vocal about his opposition, letting Ohioans know that he plans to come up with a better solution.
“I will work with the General Assembly to introduce a resolution in the next session,” DeWine said.
DeWine would like Ohio’s redistricting process to look more like Iowa’s.
According to the Harkin Institute, “The Iowa redistricting process is led by the state’s nonpartisan legislative services agency along with a strict timeline for when it must be approved.”
This system has been held up as model for other states but has still shown shortcomings when it comes to not avoiding gerrymandering.
If State Issue 1 does not get passed, Ohio will continue with their current Redistricting Commission.
Reach Sidney Daily News reporter Anna Edmiston at 937-538-4825.
