Opponents of Ohio’s Issue 1 redistricting reform claim it would be bad for communities of color. Supporters of the proposal to replace politicians with a citizens commission point to the ways the current maps crack and pack Black voters.
Six of eight contested provisions in ballot language for a proposed state constitutional amendment to alter the drawing of legislative and congressional districts can remain as is, while two must be revised, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled Monday.
Anti-gerrymandering groups in Ohio and nationally are looking to correct what they say is a representational flaw in redistricting regarding prison populations.
A proposed anti-gerrymandering amendment in Ohio that would remove politicians from the redistricting process in favor of a citizens commission has gathered enough signatures to proceed to voters on the November ballot.
Signature collection continues for an anti-gerrymandering ballot measure in Ohio that would replace politicians on the redistricting commission with citizens. As the July deadline approaches, supporters are pointing to a new study showing how uncompetitive Statehouse races are.
Former Ohio Supreme Court justice Yvette McGee Brown remembers when the Ohio General Assembly was run by Vern Riffe and Stan Aronoff, bipartisan leaders in the days before term limits and the Republican supermajority.
Some of the leaders of a campaign to reform redistricting in Ohio say the process of drawing districts may be complicated, but making necessary changes to end gerrymandering isn’t: “Political insiders have no business being in the process.”
Republican members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission say Statehouse district map challengers don’t have a leg to stand on, even alleging the groups want gerrymandering themselves.
Activists who hope to pass an anti-gerrymandering amendment to the Ohio Constitution can now begin gathering the nearly half-million signatures on the need to get the measure on the November 2024 ballot after the amendment was approved as a single issue by the Ohio Ballot Board Thursday.
One might think that a movement associated with a former state Supreme Court chief justice could draft a petition summary that passes legal muster. But twice already, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected summaries of a petition to put an anti-gerrymandering amendment on Ohio’s November 2024 ballot.
