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The Sound of Ideas - 12-6-2023 - Former Ohio chief justice talks about the new anti-gerrymandering amendment proposal
Ohio voters may be asked to change the state's method for drawing legislative maps again in 2024. Signatures are being gathered with the goal of putting an anti-gerrymandering amendment on the November ballot.
The proposal seeks to remove politicians entirely from the process of drawing Ohio's congressional and statehouse maps. A non-partisan coalition called Citizens Not Politicians is the driving force behind the amendment. If approved, it would create a 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission made up of members equally split between Republicans, Democrats and Independents and drawn from across the state.
The current Ohio Redistricting Commission is made up of the governor, secretary of state and state auditor. Four appointees-two Republicans and two Democrats-- complete the commission. Because Republicans hold all of the state's executive offices, the GOP holds a 5-2 majority on the commission.
Ohio voters approved changes to its redistricting process in 2015 and again in 2018 with the goal of making elections fairer. But despite those voter-approved changes, the map-drawing process last year led to multiple versions of the congressional and statehouse maps being ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The rulings from the Ohio Supreme Court hinged on former Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican, who voted with the Democrats on the court in striking down those maps.
O'Connor is now a leading force in the push for the new citizens-led redistricting amendment proposal.
Former Chief Justice O'Connor joins us Wednesday on the Sound of Ideas to discuss the new anti-gerrymandering amendment.
Citizens Not Politicians website
Guests:
-Maureen O'Connor, Retired Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Citizens Not Politicians
-Catherine Turcer, Executive Director, Common Cause Ohio
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
The proposal seeks to remove politicians entirely from the process of drawing Ohio's congressional and statehouse maps. A non-partisan coalition called Citizens Not Politicians is the driving force behind the amendment. If approved, it would create a 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission made up of members equally split between Republicans, Democrats and Independents and drawn from across the state.
The current Ohio Redistricting Commission is made up of the governor, secretary of state and state auditor. Four appointees-two Republicans and two Democrats-- complete the commission. Because Republicans hold all of the state's executive offices, the GOP holds a 5-2 majority on the commission.
Ohio voters approved changes to its redistricting process in 2015 and again in 2018 with the goal of making elections fairer. But despite those voter-approved changes, the map-drawing process last year led to multiple versions of the congressional and statehouse maps being ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The rulings from the Ohio Supreme Court hinged on former Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican, who voted with the Democrats on the court in striking down those maps.
O'Connor is now a leading force in the push for the new citizens-led redistricting amendment proposal.
Former Chief Justice O'Connor joins us Wednesday on the Sound of Ideas to discuss the new anti-gerrymandering amendment.
Citizens Not Politicians website
Guests:
-Maureen O'Connor, Retired Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Citizens Not Politicians
-Catherine Turcer, Executive Director, Common Cause Ohio
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV
December 6, 2023