Restore power where it belongs: with Ohio citizens, not politicians
Get the Facts on Issue 1
When politicians draw biased, ridiculously shaped voting districts to favor their own interests, it’s called gerrymandering, and Ohio is one of the 10 most gerrymandered states.
The politicians who drew voting district maps the Ohio Supreme Court ruled were unconstitutional 7 times will do anything to stay in power – including creating false ballot language to trick voters.
Here are the facts. Issue 1 will end gerrymandering by empowering citizens, not politicians, to draw fair districts using an open and transparent process. It will:
- Create the 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission made up of Democratic, Republican, and Independent citizens who broadly represent the different geographic areas and demographics of the state.
- Ban current or former politicians, political party officials and lobbyists from sitting on the Commission.
- Require fair and impartial districts by making it unconstitutional to draw voting districts that discriminate against or favor any political party or individual politician.
- Require the commission to operate under an open and independent process.
Why Issue 1 is so important:
- Ohio is one of America’s 10 most gerrymandered states, according to independent, nonpartisan experts.
- Ohio courts ruled 7 times that gerrymandered voting district maps, crafted by politicians under the current system, were unconstitutional.
- Ohio’s current system allows politicians and lobbyists to gerrymander voting districts in secret backroom deals to manipulate outcomes.
- Issue 1 will: make it illegal to manipulate voting districts to discriminate against or favor any political party or any individual politician, while creating an open and transparent process with checks and balances to draw fair and impartial districts.
Opponents of this amendment will say anything to keep our current broken system that lets them manipulate voting districts to discriminate against voters. But the fact is that Issue 1 is supported by a broad spectrum of Ohioans, including Republicans, Independents, and Democrats.
Full text of the proposed amendment
Retired Chief Justice of the Ohio State Supreme Court explains what gerrymandering is, its impact on Ohio communities, and Citizens not Politicians amendment that will be on the ballot in November. The event is presented by the League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area, and moderated by Josh Sweigart with the Dayton Daily News.
See also this article from Dayton Daily News which describes how the proposed redistricting system would work; and the posters below which can be printed or shared electronically to spread the word about this critical ballot issue.
