Issue 1, a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution, seeks to end gerrymandering in Ohio. Credit: Reid Murray | Managing Editor for Design
The first issue on this November’s ballot differs slightly from what Ohioans saw in 2023. Instead of reproductive rights, redistricting practices sit at the top of this year’s ballot.
Issue 1, a proposed amendment to the state’s constitution, seeks to end gerrymandering in Ohio by replacing the politicians on the current redistricting commission with a 15-person, citizen-led commission in both congressional and state legislative redistricting plans, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
“Gerrymandering is not an issue that is particularly exciting to younger voters when compared to more social issues,” Jo Baldwin, a fourth-year in international relations, Russian and psychology and president of the College Democrats at Ohio State, said in an email. “Nevertheless, it is, in my opinion, one of the most important issues on the ballot this upcoming November.”
The term “gerrymandering” was coined in the 1812 election by Eldridge Gerry — a former U.S. vice president — and refers to the process of drawing the boundaries in electoral districts in a manner that gives an unfair advantage to one political party over another by making it easier for it to win more legislative seats, even without garnering more total votes.
“It is impossible to make any change if your elected representatives don’t accurately represent you,” Baldwin said. “As for Ohio, we have an extremely gerrymandered state that needs reform. Any issue that you care about is affected by gerrymandering because your voice isn’t heard in poorly drawn districts,” Baldwin said.
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau counts the population, leaving it to the Ohio Redistricting Commission — also known as ORC — to redraw the corresponding boundaries of state legislative districts.
The commission — comprised of Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Gov. Mike DeWine, state auditor Keith Faber and four appointees from minority leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives — is then tasked with representing citizens’ interests, though it may not reflect voters’ popular opinions, according to its website.
“It’s not just politicians picking politicians,” said Michael Neblo, professor of political science, philosophy and public policy and director of the Institute for Democratic Engagement and Accountability — also known as IDEA. “It’s the politicians that are going to have to stand for reelection that are in office right now determining the voters. They’re going to decide whether they get to stay, and that, to a lot of people’s ears, sounds like a bad idea.”
Among the biggest advocates for Issue 1 are organizations like the national Brennan Center for Justice and Ohio’s Citizens Not Politicians, which aims to put the power back in the hands of the people via the independence of a new commission, according to its website. However, there could be some concern that this leaves room for private corruption or error due to lack of experience.
“The standard [thing] that you worry about is that it requires a certain amount of expertise to draw boundaries,” Neblo said. “I think average people can train up fast enough if they’re going to be on this commission to competently implement that. They can’t be punished at the ballot box if they behave in a way that people don’t like. It makes sense to say that you can, that it’s better to have electoral accountability, except that we know in practice, that’s not going to be the basis of people’s electoral accountability.”
Paul Beck, professor emeritus and academy professor of political science, said it’s important to note that Ohio is now one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, with 53% of the votes leaning toward Republican initiatives and resulting in an overwhelming super majority of congressional seats.
“Students should know that, in the past, Ohio voters have tried to do away with gerrymandering, and the Supreme Court was defied by the same politicians who control the redistricting,” Beck said. “In a heavily gerrymandered Republican-majority, primaries produce more ideologically extreme measures that would not be the case otherwise.”
According to the Ohio Capital Journal, in late August, Citizens Not Politicians — the non-partisan coalition backing efforts to do away with the ORC — recently filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Ballot Board for the perceived misleading language used in its implementation on the November ballot. This would be the largest barrier to overcome in having this issue amended, Beck said.
“The latest twist is that the ballot board, which writes the language which appears for an issue, has written, in my judgment, a very biased description, accusing the people who are behind it of wanting to gerrymander themselves, which is just not accurate,” Beck said. “This decision must be made by the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday. The fear, on the part of supporters, is that the Supreme Court won’t act in time.”
Ohio State College Republicans did not respond to The Lantern’s requests for comment by the time of publication.
