Ohioans must vote — again — to end gerrymandering
Letter to the Editor,
A majority of Ohioans want fair voting districts without gerrymandering, as confirmed by 70% voter approval in the 2015 and 2018 citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. So why are we voting on an anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment? Look for the answer to the Ohio Redistricting Commission created to draw new maps by the 2015 and 2018 amendments.
Because of the stranglehold Republicans had in Ohio through gerrymandering, the commission made up of state officeholders 5 to 2 in their favor. The Republican majority sabotaged the process in 2022 with endless delays in creating new maps. All were ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court. Election deadlines for the 2022 election led to Ohioans still voting in Republican gerrymandered districts. The result was a Republican supermajority in both the Ohio legislature and congressional delegation.
Voters can vote to end partisan gerrymandering. Citizens Not Politicians is a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment (Issue 1) that removes any current or former Democratic or Republican officeholder from the map-drawing process. The new Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission is made up of citizens registered as Democrats, Republicans and Independents (five each) from all across Ohio. The selection process for the commission is bipartisan and transparent. The new districts must reflect overall the percentage of votes cast for each party in the 2018, 2020 and 2024 statewide elections, currently 54-46% Republican.
Republican officials are labeling the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment a form of gerrymandering in the official ballot language, which breaks all laws for accurate, nonpartisan ballot language. Republicans control the ballot board, and Republican judges on the Ohio Supreme Court approved the language. Since 2012 the Republicans have been the master gerrymanderers in Ohio, and we all know it. Don’t let them cheat us again out of fair voting districts. Vote yes on Issue 1.
Mady Noble
Wooster
No Letters to the Editor concerning the Nov. 5 election will be printed in the Nov. 2 paper.