Innovation Ohio

What you need to know about Ohio Politics and Policy

Equal Districts Coalition Condemns Move to Let ONLY Republicans Intervene in Lawsuits

COLUMBUS — Today, the Equal Districts Coalition — a unified group of several prominent Ohio advocacy organizations engaged in the 2021 redistricting fight — condemned a last-minute budget amendment from Senate President Matt Huffman that would allow only Republicans to intervene in cases challenging newly-drawn maps. 

“This is a partisan power grab, plain and simple. Rather than spending time right now to set up and prepare for our redistricting process — including convening the Commission and passing required public engagement legislation — the Republican supermajority is instead focused on legislating how best to tilt the scales of our process to favor one party over the other,” said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director for All On The Line Ohio.

President Huffman’s amendment would let Republican legislative leadership intervene on behalf of both the legislature and the Redistricting Commission. It would also allow them to hire private legal counsel — on the public dime -— to represent them in court. The amendment does not allow Democratic caucus leaders, Democratic members of the Commission, or any other individual or group of legislative members to do the same.

“In 2015 and 2018, Ohio voters overwhelmingly supported reforms to ensure that both Republicans and Democrats have a say in how district lines are drawn. Instead of respecting voters’ wishes, the Senate Republican supermajority is actively trying to cheat the new system,” said Desiree Tims, President and CEO of Innovation Ohio.

This change comes as a last-minute addition to Ohio’s massive operating budget bill, which is thousands of pages long and months into its legislative process. The bill has already passed the House and is scheduled to pass the Senate today, leaving no time whatsoever for public testimony. 

“No matter our differences, we Ohioans deserve to have our voices heard. The Republican supermajority’s amendment would let them use tax dollars to do the exact opposite of what the people told them to do. They want to use our money to silence Black, brown, and other marginalized communities who are not fairly represented in the map-making process. Without fair representation, our issues are not prioritized. It’s shameful and unacceptable,” said Prentiss Haney, Co-Executive Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.

The Equal Districts Coalition urges Ohioans to contact Statehouse leaders to demand this provision be removed from the budget during Conference Committee:

The Equal Districts Coalition includes the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the Ohio Environmental Council, Innovation Ohio, Ohio Council of Churches, the Ohio Student Association, ProgressOhio, All On the Line-Ohio, Ohio Federation of Teachers, Ohio Education Association, CAIR-Ohio, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, URGE – Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, LEAD Ohio, the Ohio Women’s Alliance, and more.

More information — from the Ohio Legislative Service Commission:

New Citizens’ Redistricting Commission Launches in Ohio to Spotlight Community Needs

COLUMBUS, OH — Today, a new multiracial commission of top Ohio leaders announced the launch of the Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission (OCRC). This nonpartisan and highly diverse commission will hold public hearings in a wide range of communities to provide robust public input throughout Ohio’s map-drawing process. 

“This past week, we witnessed an attempt by Statehouse leadership to shorten the redistricting process and decrease opportunities for public input. This new citizens’ commission will help hold the map drawers accountable to ensure no one can silence Ohioans during the redistricting process,“  said former State Representative Kathleen Clyde.

The OCRC aims to: 1.) Model a thorough and robust public engagement process for Ohio’s official redistricting commission, 2.) Develop and demonstrate citizen-derived principles of redistricting, and 3.) Draw unity maps based on community input and feedback. OCRC’s work will culminate in mapmaking recommendations and a report that includes model unity maps, which will be submitted as public testimony in the official redistricting process. 

The project is co-sponsored by the Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC), Ohio State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) of Ohio. The Commission will partner with the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University and MGGG Redistricting Lab at Tufts University for data collection, analysis and community mapping.

“Whether you’re in Akron, Toledo, or Cincinnati, gerrymandering harms all of our communities. The Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission will ensure the people’s voices are heard during this critical redistricting process,” said Ohio Organizing Collaborative Policy and Advocacy Director, Jeniece Brock. “This commission will engage the most marginalized communities to make sure they provide their input. All Ohioans deserve a say in how their districts are drawn and who gets to represent them.”

The OCRC is composed of academics, political party officials, community representatives, and others from across the state. It will be chaired by former State Rep. Kathleen Clyde and Greg Moore of the Promise of Democracy Foundation. The Ohio Organizing Collaborative’s Policy and Advocacy Director, Jeniece Brock, will serve as the commission’s secretary. 

Commission members will include:

  • Barbara Sykes, Former state representative, Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OBLC) Foundation President & CEO
  • Tom Roberts, Former state senator, President of the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP
  • Andre Washington, President of the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) Ohio Chapter
  • Katy Shanahan, All On The Line Ohio State Director 
  • Kathleen Clyde, Former state representative
  • Greg Moore, Promise of Democracy Foundation  
  • Jeniece Brock, Health Scientist, Policy & Advocacy Director for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative 
  • Sam Gresham, Chair of Common Cause Ohio
  • Akii Butler, Ohio Student Association
  • Dr. Richard Gunther, Retired professor
  • Chris Tavenor, Ohio Environmental Council
  • Dr. Lis Regula, Professor and LGBTQ activist
  • Jeremy Blake, Newark City Council member, Equality Ohio board member
  • Dr. Ellen Greene Bush, Clinical Psychologist
  • Alan Bannister, Ohio political professional, former Ohio statewide political director for Joe Biden
  • Amina Barhumi, Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR-Ohio

Additional members may be added to the commission in the coming days.

“The OCRC is made up of a broad, diverse cross section of Ohioans from across the state who support a fair redistricting process. We are looking forward to giving the citizens who voted to reform the redistricting process in Ohio the opportunity to finally have their voice heard,” said Greg Moore, OCRC co-chairperson.  

The OCRC’s activities will include hosting public hearings for community input, collecting publicly available data for mapmaking, and supporting public education on redistricting. 

The Commission will hold public hearings on the redistricting process on every 2nd and 4th Thursday at 6:00 pm EDT from May 2021 through September 2021.

The public and the press will be encouraged to attend these hearings — which will be virtual — to ensure widespread public awareness of and attention to Ohio’s redistricting process. For more information, please visit www.mapohio.org. 

Follow the Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission on social media:

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The Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission (OCRC) is an independent, non-partisan commission made up of volunteer members. Commission members will include academics, political party officials, community representatives, and others from across the state. The Commission’s activities include: hosting public hearings for community input, collecting publicly available data for mapmaking, and supporting public education on redistricting. The work of the commission will be culminated into a report including recommendations and a unity map(s), which will be submitted as public testimony in the official redistricting process.

Problems with HB 294 — Ohio’s Anti-Voter Bill

It will take all of us to stop the anti-voter bill threatening Ohioans’ rights.

  • Most Ohioans believe:
    • Every eligible person should be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
    • Every voter should have equal access to the process.
    • We should be able to trust in the integrity of our elections. 
  • Ohioans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support policies that help everyone exercise their right to vote:
    • Prepaid postage on absentee ballots and ballot requests
    • Secure ballot drop boxes available throughout each county
    • Multiple early vote centers
    • Mailing all eligible voters an absentee ballot application
  • HB 294 is the opposite of what Ohioans want.
  • HB 294 is worse than voter suppression. It’s voter selection.
    • This bill helps very specific people (rich, white, traditional Republicans) vote. It makes voting a lot harder for everyone else. 
    • This bill lets Ohio’s Republican supermajority decide who gets to vote. 
    • To be blunt: HB 294 is about Rich, White Voting Rights.

WHAT HB 294 DOES:

  • Cuts early voting hours
    • Removes the last Monday of Early Vote
  • Severely limits ballot drop boxes by:
    • Allowing only one drop box location per county, no matter the county population/size
    • Banning the use of drop boxes until 10 days before an election
  • Limits access to absentee ballots
    • It stops the state from accepting ballot requests 10 full days before an election.
      • Therefore Ohioans could no longer request an absentee ballot using the drop box.
  • Forces most Ohioans to pay for postage on absentee ballots / ballot request forms
  • Makes it much easier to vote in some small counties than in major urban areas by failing to address current proportionality issues (and actually writing some of the issues into law).
    • There would be the same number of drop boxes and early voting locations for a county of 8,000 vs a county of 800,000.
  • Even the pieces of this bill that seem positive are actually problematic.
    • Example: HB 294 adds an online ballot request option….with such a strict ID requirement that most college students can’t even use it.
  • HB 294 will institute discriminatory barriers that make it harder for certain Ohioans to vote. The bill will disproportionately impact:
    • Military voters
    • Low-income Ohioans
    • Black and brown Ohioans
    • College students
    • Ohioans with disabilities
    • Housing insecure Ohioans
    • Rural Ohioans
    • Elderly Ohioans
  • HB 294 punishes Ohioans for being poor.
    • Don’t have a car?
    • Can’t afford postage?
    • Don’t have two forms of ID?
    • Frequent address changes?
      HB 294 makes it much harder for you to vote.

TAKE ACTION. Tell these legislators to kill HB 294. Tell them Ohio is watching.

MORE INFORMATION

DONATE to help Innovation Ohio fight this attack on your constitutional rights.

Our Right to Vote is Under Attack — Statement from Desiree Tims

Most Ohioans believe every eligible person should be able to exercise their constitutional right to vote. Our laws should help everyone participate in the process.

But Ohio’s Republican supermajority just introduced a bill to do the opposite.

HB 294 is worse than voter suppression. It’s voter selection. It would let Ohio’s Republican supermajority decide who gets to vote, and who doesn’t.

This bill would:

  • Cut early voting hours
  • Severely limit ballot drop boxes
  • Limit access to absentee ballots
  • Force most Ohioans to pay for postage on absentee ballots and ballot request forms
  • Make it 100x easier to vote in some small counties than in major urban areas

They’re trying to choose which of us can vote. Plain and simple. We cannot let them succeed.

Tell House Speaker Bob Cupp to kill HB 294. Tell him Ohio is watching.

It will take all of us together to stop this attack on our freedoms.

In Solidarity,
Desiree Tims
President & CEO
Innovation Ohio

Equal Districts Coalition Strongly Opposes Proposal to Shorten, Weaken Ohio Redistricting Process

COLUMBUS — Today, the Equal Districts Coalition — a unified group of several prominent Ohio advocacy organizations engaged in the 2021 redistricting fight — announced strong opposition to Senate President Matt Huffman’s proposal to give Statehouse leaders complete power to unilaterally determine Ohio’s redistricting schedule, creating the potential to cut back on public engagement opportunities.

“Ohioans voted twice, with powerful majorities, to make our redistricting process more open, accessible, and fair. The people demanded to play a key role in drawing district lines,” said Desiree Tims, President and CEO of Innovation Ohio. “Ohio must respect the voters’ wishes and maintain a redistricting timeline that allows everyone’s voice to be heard.”

President Huffman’s proposed constitutional amendment would allow Ohio’s legislature to change redistricting deadlines anytime Census data is delayed. Because the legislature is currently dominated by a supermajority of Republican members, this would likely create scenarios where one party has unilateral control over redistricting deadlines. This stands in direct opposition to the intent of the ballot reform measures that Ohio’s voters overwhelmingly passed in 2015 and 2018.

“No matter where we’re from or what we look like, our votes should count. We cannot allow selfish politicians to take electoral power away from the people. That’s exactly the problem Ohioans were attempting to solve with these new redistricting laws,” said Prentiss Haney, Co-Executive Director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. “Gerrymandering has allowed certain politicians to rig district maps and election outcomes for far too long, diluting the power of Black and brown voters. We cannot condone any proposal that would take Ohio back in that direction.”

Ohio has known for well over two months that the state will receive its redistricting data by September 30, 2021. While this presents some challenges connected to meeting Ohio’s constitutionally-mandated redistricting deadlines, it does not change the fact that voters overwhelmingly demanded these new deadlines — and the related timeline — in two recent elections.

“When a bipartisan group of legislators and advocates came to the negotiation tables in 2015 and 2018, everyone agreed about the essential nature of ensuring a fair redistricting process. Missed deadlines, even those caused in part by the global pandemic, cannot and should not be used as an excuse to resurrect the political games of the past,” said Heather Taylor-Miesle, Executive Director of the Ohio Environmental Council. “We call on Ohio lawmakers to follow through on Ohio voters’ decisive mandate to end partisan gerrymandering and to ensure a thorough and transparent redistricting process.” 

The census delay is absolutely not an excuse to cut corners in terms of how transparent or how inclusive the redistricting process is. “To best mitigate the impacts of the delay, we need to preserve as much of the existent redistricting process as possible – with an emphasis on maintaining ample opportunities for public engagement. As it stands, however, Senate President Huffman’s proposal is a complete non-starter,” said Katy Shanahan, Ohio State Director of All On The Line. 

The Equal Districts Coalition includes the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP, Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the Ohio Environmental Council, Innovation Ohio, the Ohio Student Association, ProgressOhio, All On the Line-Ohio, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Ohio Council of Churches, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, URGE – Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, LEAD Ohio, the Ohio Women’s Alliance, and more. 

Equal Districts Coalition: Don’t Shortchange Ohioans By Gutting Redistricting Process

Delays in Census data are no excuse for limiting robust, transparent map-drawing process that leads to fair maps

Today, a new coalition of Ohio organizations announced their opposition to any attempts to shorten or minimize opportunities for the public to weigh-in on the redistricting process. The Equal Districts Coalition includes the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP, the Ohio Environmental Council, Innovation Ohio, the Ohio Student Association, ProgressOhio, All On the Line-Ohio, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, Ohio Council of Churches, NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, URGE – Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, LEAD Ohio, and the Ohio Women’s Alliance.

This coalition strongly opposes any attempt to use the delay in the Census data to limit the redistricting process. Such a change would be a direct contradiction of the will of the Ohio voters who overwhelmingly passed redistricting reform in 2015 and 2018. 

“We have all had to make adjustments during this pandemic to ensure our families and communities have what they need,” said Innovation Ohio President Desiree Tims. “It is important that Ohio elected officials step up to the challenge and not cut corners when it comes to making sure that every person counts in our democracy.”

Yesterday, a federal judge dismissed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s lawsuit that attempted to force the US Census Bureau to send incomplete redistricting data to the states. From the start, Ohio’s lawsuit has been a misguided attempt to cut corners at the expense of Ohio voters – the US Census Bureau needs as much time as necessary to ensure that the 2020 Census count is complete and that the redistricting data is as accurate as possible. 

“Our priority is to protect the public’s ability to participate in how the maps are drawn and how their communities will be represented. For the last decade, Ohioans have been denied any real political representation because of our gerrymandered districts,” said Tom Roberts, President of the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP. “In 2015 and 2018, we came together to demand a redistricting process centered around injecting the people’s voice into how our districts are drawn. We will not negotiate away our ability to engage in a robust, transparent redistricting process that gives us fair, representative maps as a result.”

We now know – like we have known for the last month – that Ohio will receive its redistricting data by September 30, 2021. This certainly presents some challenges for the state given our constitutionally-mandated deadlines by when new maps are due. What the delay underscores, however, is that Ohio’s elected leaders need to begin the necessary work to prepare for redistricting immediately. 

“There is no time to waste in preparing for the monumental task of redrawing our district boundaries for the next decade and ensuring every Ohioan can have an equal voice in the process,” said All On The Line Ohio State Director Katy Shanahan. “The delay in census data delivery is not an excuse to cut out any opportunity for members of the public to engage in the redistricting process or for there to be any less transparency in how the maps are drawn.” 

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