A ballot measure that would have established a new body for drawing the state maps in Ohio, removing elected officials entirely, is projected to fail — dealing a blow to Democrats, according to Decision Desk HQ.
The ballot measure would have established an Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission that would have comprised five members of both parties in addition to five independents who have fairly reflected the state.
Text of the proposed amendment also asserts that “to ban partisan gerrymandering and prohibit the use of redistricting plans that favor one political party and disfavor others, the statewide proportion of districts in each redistricting plan that favors each political party shall correspond closely to the statewide partisan preferences of the voters of Ohio.”
The measure would change the current body tasked with redistricting — the Ohio Redistricting Commission that includes two Democratic state lawmakers, two GOP lawmakers, the governor, auditor and secretary of state. The three statewide officials are all Republicans.
The Republican-led Ohio Ballot Board drew criticism from advocates pushing for the ballot measure when it passed language describing the measure as saying it would “repeal constitutional protections against gerrymandering approved by nearly three-quarters of Ohio electors participating in the statewide elections of 2015 and 2018, and eliminate the longstanding ability of Ohio citizens to hold their representatives accountable for establishing fair state legislative and congressional districts.”
The group behind the initiative, Citizens Not Politicians, sued over the language, but that challenge failed before the Ohio Supreme Court.
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