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| A campaign cake for Prop. 1 |
Providing an undeniable sign of hope for the push to
eliminate gerrymandering in neighboring Michigan, Ohio voters on Tuesday
overwhelming approved a redistricting reform plan that will require a
bipartisan approach to drawing legislative district lines.
With 71 percent support, Ohio voters embraced a ballot proposal that
will require a bipartisan commission to draw the lines in a nonpartisan manner, which should lead to fairer elections. The successful campaign for reform was led
by the League of Woman Voters of
Ohio.
Dispatch reported that critics say the new process will attempt to curtail the
partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts that: led to too many
non-competitive districts, artificially protects the majority party’s power,
and creates a system where incumbents have more fear of being challenged from
the far flanks of their parties, causing them to govern in a more partisan
manner.
GOP support was key
Ohio voters in
2005 and 2012 overwhelmingly rejected redistricting reform efforts but the
breakthrough this time was the support from legislative Republicans who had
feared that ending gerrymandering would hurt the GOP’s standing in the state
Capitol.
results came in, a senior aide to Gov. John Kasich, tweeted a message to the
media: “Ohio Republican Leaders deserve a ton of credit for breaking the cycle
and potentially giving up power.”
Though the
proposal only applies to the state legislature, the General Assembly, supporters
are already looking ahead to passing the same reforms for congressional
districts next year.
to wrap up a series of 35 town halls where the LWV has explained and advocated
for redistricting reform in the Great Lakes State.
Common Cause, another
reform-minded group that assisted the Ohio ballot prop campaign, responded to
the vote this way:
“Prior to today’s historic
victory, the Ohio Constitution allowed politicians to draw General Assembly
districts for political advantage instead of ensuring fair representation. In
2011, map-makers labeled the hotel room where they drew maps in secret ‘the
bunker’ and used partisan information to draw as many districts as possible for
their party. They even changed district lines for a major political donor.”
be created by a seven-person commission, with one member each chosen by the
governor, secretary of state, state auditor and the four leaders of the state
House and Senate. At least two members of the minority party must be
represented.
The commission will operate within strict parameters:
against drawing districts primarily to favor or disfavor a political
party.
voted. A plan could face a legal challenge before the state Supreme Court if,
for example, a party that wins about half of the votes for the General Assembly
does not win about half of the seats.
commission approves a map without at least two votes from the minority party,
the map will only be in effect for four years rather than 10. This creates an
incentive for bipartisan cooperation because the majority party on the
commission has no guarantee it will remain in the majority four years later.
