Ohioans rejected Issue 1 on Election Day [53.8 percent to 46.2 percent, according to the Associated Press], and the Ohio State Constitution will remain as is. A proposed amendment regarding gerrymandering, it has become a prominent topic in political discussions among Ohio residents. This led to Issue 1, a citizen-led initiative. The debate surrounding Issue 1 has been evident in communities, with signs displaying appeals for voters to choose “Yes” or “No.” Supporters and opponents of the initiative claim that their preferred outcome will fix the issue of gerrymandering, a complicated topic that is often misunderstood.
Gerrymandering has a long history, originating from the actions of the 19th-century Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry, according to the Library of Congress. In 1812, Gerry’s Democratic-Republican Party redrew the district lines in a way that created a district resembling a mythological salamander, which became known as the “Gerry-mander.” The intent behind this redistricting was to weaken the opposing Federalist Party. The oddly-shaped district drew significant criticism, and while Gerry was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, governor of Massachusetts and vice president under James, Madison, “his name was forever linked to this form of political power-broking by the cartoon [below], which often appeared with the term gerrymander.” This practice has since evolved as a strategy to influence electoral outcomes by manipulating district boundaries.
This manipulation typically happens during the redistricting process, a crucial routine of maintaining the structure of both state legislatures and the U.S. Congress. Every ten years, states must utilize census data to adjust district sizes and boundaries in response to population shifts, according to the United States Census Bureau.
However, gerrymandering arises when politicians take advantage of this process to give their party an unfair advantage often by strategically designing districts that ensure a majority of legislative seats. As a result, districts are usually drawn with irregular shapes, specifically to include arge numbers of voters from the dominant party while excluding or minimizing the influence of opposing voters. This practice results in a system where electoral outcomes are driven by politicians’ interests rather than accurately reflecting voters’ preferences.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Issue 1 was introduced in response to the 2021-22 redistricting process, during which Republicans drew electoral maps that disregarded public input and missed key deadlines. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled these maps unconstitutional, rejecting them seven times for being unfairly gerrymandered.
In response to concerns about the fairness of district boundaries, a bipartisan coalition called Citizens Not Politicians took action, according to an Oct. 31 article in The [Cincinnati] Enquirer, and “sued over the language, saying that it was
not accurate and would mislead Ohio voters.” Issue 1 proposed the creation of a new redistricting commission for Ohio: “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,” according to the proposed amendment language via the Ohio Secretary of State.
Those against Issue 1 called it “unaccountable bureaucracy,” in that “Issue 1 creates an unaccountable commission whose members are chosen out of a hat by four retired judges, an unknown private hiring firm and commission members themselves. Commission members would not be required to meet any minimum level of qualifications and will be forced to hire consultants to draw maps,” according to the proposed amendment language.
According to The Ohio Redistricting Commission’s website, the commission is comprised of seven members: one individual appointed by the Senate President, one individual appointed by the Speaker of the House, one individual appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, one individual appointed by the House Minority Leader, the Governor, the Auditor and the Secretary of State.
