What you need to know about Ohio Politics and Policy
Nova Dugan-Mezensky · September 16, 2024
What Ohioans Need to Know About Issue 1 (November 2024 Redistricting Amendment)
What Ohioans Need to Know About Issue 1
| Ohio’s Current Broken System | The Issue 1 Solution | |
| Who Draws Lines | Partisan politicians draw the lines in Ohio right now — and they’ve failed, time and time again. -Ohio is one of the 10 most gerrymandered states in USA. -The Ohio Supreme Court ruled 7 times (!) politicians did unconstitutional maps. | The 15-member Citizens Redistricting Commission will be made up of Democratic, Republican, and Independent citizens — who broadly represent areas & demographics of OH. Politicians, political party officials and lobbyists will be banned from sitting on the Commission. |
| Transparency | Politicians draw voting district maps in secret to protect themselves and their friends. | Citizens Commission work is required to happen in an open and transparent process. |
| Fairness & Proportionality | There’s a proportionality rule in our constitution now endorsed by voters — politicians just ignore it. | Make it unconstitutional to draw districts discriminating against/favoring a party or politician. |
| Accountability | Politicians ignore voters and ignore the courts under the current rules, and voters are unable to hold them accountable. Most legislative elections are functionally uncontested, because maps protect incumbents. | Ohians will be able to hold politicians accountable with fair maps that honor Ohio communities and respect Ohio voters. Citizen commissioners can be removed if needed in a defined process. |
| Who supports it? | Many politicians and lobbyists support the current system, while a broad coalition of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats supports the Citizens Redistricting Commission. | A large coalition of Republicans, Independents and Democrats. |
| Public input | Politicians ignore citizen input now, and everyone knows it — they manipulate districts to protect themselves and their friends. | Commission will be required to make their meetings accessible, required to facilitate public input, and required to honor citizen input regarding their communities. |
| Cost | We pay for the commission we have now – for politicians to ignore us. Also pay for years of litigation — 7 Ohio Supreme Court rulings saying they gerrymandered. | We will have a commission — and it will be made up of citizens, not politicians. |
| Gerrymandering | Ohio is 1 of 10 most gerrymandered states in America, according to independent experts. | Independent experts have identified Ohio as one of the most gerrymandered states. Issue 1 seeks to address this by creating clear rules to prevent future gerrymandering |
| Details | Voters repeatedly voted for anti-gerrymandering amendments – but politicians are able to ignore voters and game the system under current rules. | Issue 1 has specific rules and details in its text to stop politicians and bad actors from gaming the system. |
| Protecting the voting power of communities if color | There are numerous examples of Black communities being gerrymandered and ignored under our current system. | Issue 1 has an explicit requirement to follow the Voting Rights Act and federal law before other criteria. Commissioner selection process designed to ensure members have working knowledge of OH communities. Issue 1 also has explicit requirement that consultants hired by commission have VRA experience and expertise. |
| How commissioners are picked | Politicians run the current process, to protect themselves and their friends. | A bipartisan panel of retired judges will oversee the selection process and ensure commissioners do not have conflicts, are compromise-oriented, and possess skills/experiences necessary for success. |