This past year saw two contentious ballot issues in Ohio. August’s Issue 1 would’ve made it nearly impossible for citizens to place issues on the ballot and just as impossible to pass them if they cleared that hurdle. It was rushed to the August ballot by the legislature, after the legislature itself banned August special elections, to try to defeat November’s Issue 1: the protection of reproductive rights. But Ohio voters confounded them, voting by similar large margins to protect democracy and reproductive rights.
Now activists are collecting signatures for another ballot issue that would likely have prevented either of these two from getting to the voters: replacing the politicians who currently draw the congressional and legislative districts with a nonpartisan citizens redistricting commission that bars membership to current and former elected officials, officers in any political party, lobbyists and big-money donors.
Undoubtedly we’ll hear screaming from the party that currently has outsized power in the Ohio legislature, thanks to gerrymandering, claiming that this is an effort of “the radical left” to seize power. In fact it’s the opposite. It’s an attempt to pry loose some of the radical right’s current outsized power and restore a balance that reflects the Ohio voters.
During the “hearings” on redistricting in 2021, hundreds of citizens testified. The vast majority asked for districts that reflected the voter balance, But perhaps one in every 50 people who spoke made the laughable argument that if Republicans won the majority, even 51% — or 55%, their typical win — they were entitled to 100% of the power, shutting out the voices of nearly half of the voters entirely.
But the testimony of the vast majority was ignored and extremely gerrymandered maps were created — and declared unconstitutional by the state supreme court. The GOP majority on the redistricting panel ignored them, blew a hole in the state constitution and mocked the voters. This fueled the issue that will be on the 2024 ballot if enough signatures are gathered — and they will be. It’s called Citizens Not Politicians, which says it all. Please sign as soon as you can, although you have until July 3. Get information on how to sign and how to circlet petitions yourself here.
Currently Republicans control the legislature by a supermajority of 75% — 80% in the senate and 70% in the house — despite racking up only around 55% of the vote statewide. With a better balance and more competitive races, they’ll have to spend more time focusing on things such as equitably funding education, providing health care access, creating living-wage jobs for all, making sure kids all have enough to eat, even addressing the state’s appalling minority infant mortality rate, since they claim to value “babies” and “innocent life” so much.
And speaking of “innocent life,” maybe they’d even get real about the new #1 killer of kids under 18: guns. This lopsided legislature saw that an overwhelming majority of Ohioans wanted sane gun restrictions such as universal background checks or requiring guns to be locked up in homes with children, and gave them the middle finger — instead loosening gun restrictions to a dangerous degree (no more training required for concealed carry of a deadly weapon!) A better-balanced legislature would be more responsive to the needs of Ohio’s people where the real threats to kids are guns and underfunded schools, not drag queen story hours.
2 Responses to “The Challenge of 2024: The Campaign to End Gerrymandering”
Penny Jeffrey
So pleased to see this article and that you have provided the link to “Citizens Not Politicians,” with info on how to participate in supporting anti-gerrymandering.
Ellen Diss
As former Cleveland, Ohio resident, I’m glad to see these efforts for Citizens not Politicians!
Currently reside in Atlanta, Georgia & we definitely need a similar effort for our state as well as others fighting against political gerrymandering!
Thank you!