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Ohio redistricting advocates eye ballot after disappointment in court

By
Susan Tebben, Ohio Capital Journal, https://ohiocapitaljournal.com

After the Ohio Supreme Court put a damper on efforts to challenge the current Statehouse redistricting plan, anti-gerrymandering advocates are moving on, with their sights on redistricting reform via the ballot box.

Those supporting reformed redistricting in Ohio that would eliminate the elected official-led Ohio Redistricting Commission with an independent panel of state residents took their disappointment that the Statehouse district maps adopted in September will be able to stand through 2030 and redirected it toward the effort to change the process.

“The process is the problem, and we will change it, putting citizens in charge of map-drawing, not the politicians whose futures depend on it,” said Jeniece Brock, policy and advocacy director for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative.

The OOC was one of the parties in lawsuits challenging not only the 2023 plan approved by a bipartisan vote of the Ohio Redistricting Commission, but also the last five Statehouse maps which were challenged after being approved by only the GOP majority of the commission.

Throughout the process, the OOC and their fellow map challengers argued the Statehouse maps were drawn with partisan favoritism toward the Republican party, and even Democratic-leaning districts could only be considered “toss-ups” in any given election.

The Ohio Supreme Court, however, sided with the commission in its latest ruling, saying the bipartisan agreement changed the game for the September 2023 maps, thus bringing a different ruling than the last five statehouse maps, all of which were rejected by a bipartisan majority of the court.

“No matter which commissioners voted for the September 2023 maps, the districts do not correspond to the preferences of Ohio voters and carve up the the state’s communities for partisan advantage,” Yurij Rudensky, senior counsel at the democracy program with NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, said in a statement.

But with the ruling closing the door on legal challenge, those blaming the process as a whole for the failings of the two-year slog that has been Ohio redistricting are working toward a new landscape, one that allows the voters to decide on new changes to the state’s method of choosing representative districts.

“This has nothing to do with red and blue; this is about empowering citizens and restoring true representative democracy that reflects the voters of Ohio,” according to Blacklick resident Michael Ahern, who is helping collect signatures for Citizens Not Politicians, the group leading the ballot initiative effort.

The ballot box has already been a busy place for initiatives, with Issue 1 in August asking voters to raise the approval percentage for constitutional amendments (and failing), and another Issue 1 in November which successfully enshrined the right to reproductive health care including abortion in the state constitution.

Issue 2 in November was also a successful citizen-led initiative to bring about a state law legalizing recreational marijuana in Ohio.

The newest effort would change existing redistricting regulations in the state constitution and create a 15-member commission “made up of Republican, Democratic and independent citizens who broadly represent the different geographic areas and demographics of the state,” according to Citizens Not Politicians.

Elected officials, both current and former, would not be allowed on the commission.

More than 413,000 signatures are required from registered Ohio voters for the proposed amendment to appear on the ballot, with a deadline of July 3 to qualify for the November 2024 general election.

Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.