Issue 1 would establish a bipartisan commission in an effort to draw fairer districts in Ohio.
Issue 1 may not be as flashy as the other issues on this year's ballot, but members of the state legislature seem to agree on its importance.
The issue, up for a vote at Tuesday's election, calls for amending Ohio's Constitution to create a bipartisan redistricting commission that would aim to eliminate gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the drawing of congressional districts that benefits one party, giving the party more representation in a congressional body.
The bipartisan commission would contain seven members, two of which are required to be in the minority party. The amendment would require a bipartisan majority vote of four members in order to adopt a district plan.
If members from the minority party don’t agree to the plan drawn by the commission, it would only go into effect for four years, rather than the usual 10. Districts are set to be redrawn after the 2020 census.
State Rep. Debbie Phillips, D-Albany, and State Sen. Lou Gentile, D-Steubenville, both said the commission would provide good incentive for legislators to work together and create districts that are more representative of the citizens.
“I think the reason such a diverse group of organizations have supported the issue is that it will contribute to better government overall,” Phillips said.
Phillips said the process of districting has become politically driven and controlled by the party in power. That, with help of computer programs, has helped with the drawing of creative lines when determining the makeup of districts.
“The city of Marietta is split," she said. "That line goes right down the middle of the street in one neighborhood.”
Gentile said the gerrymandering in Ohio’s districts is "some of the worst" he has ever seen. He said in a state like Ohio, which is a competitive swing state in presidential elections, the uneven makeup in legislative bodies does not accurately reflect what voters believe.
"What is really, truly disheartening is that essentially, legislative districts have been drawn in a way that benefits politicians,” Gentile said. "You have politicians choosing who their voters are instead of voters being able to choose who their elected officials are."
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A news release by the Ohio League of Women Voters examining 2012 and 2014 election results after the drawing of districts in 2011 claimed that districts were drawn to favor the party in control of the re-districting process and that districts were "twisted over a wide geographic area."
In 2014, Republican candidates for U.S. Congress received 57 percent of total votes for major party candidates but won 75 percent of of the seats, according to the news release.
Efforts for redistricting reform have experienced varying degrees of success in other states. Arizona and California, for example, established independent commissions. Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission faced some uncertainty in court this year.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an Arizona law tasking an independent commission with drawing congressional districts rather than the state legislature in the case State Legislature v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission.
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