Ohioans have already voted twice (2015 and 2018) to place the parameters of redrawing the boundaries of legislative districts in the Ohio Constitution. On both occasions the vast majority of Ohioans (over 70%) agreed to requirements that the process be bipartisan and transparent to the public. Currently oversight rests with the Ohio Supreme Court on any new plan to change district boundaries. All members of the Ohio Redistricting Commission are elected officials. The oversight through the highest court is also in the hands of elected justices.
If Issue 1 passes – all of the public accountability will be lost. There will be no person in the process that serves in an elected office. Even the decisions that may be made in response to complaints on new redistricting plans – will be handled by “special masters” appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court from a pool of candidates selected by a non-elected panel.
Consider the basic description (voters will not see on their ballot) that will be placed in Ohio’s state constitution (proposed Article XX, Sec. 6(C)(2) and (C)(3):
“Districts shall ensure the equal functional ability of politically cohesive and geographically proximate racial, ethnic, and language minorities to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of choice” and “districts shall preserve communities of interest to the extent possible.” Communities of interest are defined in the constitutional text as “communities of people with broadly shared interests and representational needs that arise from common ethnic, racial, social, cultural, geographic, environmental, socioeconomic, or historic identities or concerns.”
Putting this tangled mess in Ohio’s state constitution will make it absolutely impossible to have any measure of public accountability when new districts are formed. Ohio Issue 1 is a complex hot mess and should be strongly rejected by Ohio voters in this election.