Everything You Need to Know About Ohio Issue 1 November 2024

Election Day 2024 is quickly approaching. While the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris dominates the headlines, if you are from the state of Ohio, there will be another major element to the ballot on Election Day. Ohio Issue 1 is a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of Ohio that, if passed, will drastically change the way the boundaries of electoral districts are drawn in Ohio.

If you are from Ohio, you have likely seen the “Vote Yes on Issue 1” or “Vote No on Issue 1” signs in yards across the state. But curiously, both sides seem to think that their vote will combat gerrymandering, or the practice of drawing election district boundaries in ways that favor one party or candidate over another. Adding to this confusion is the fact that it is hard to find any clear, straightforward explanation of what Issue 1 is, and what exactly it will do. Let’s take a look at Issue 1, and how it would change the way things work in Ohio if it passes.

Issue 1 on the Ballot

On election day, few take the time to read all the way through everything on the ballot. Fortunately, these days we can actually get access to sample ballots that we can read ahead of time if we know where to look. This file is a page from a sample ballot from the Wayne County Board of Elections website, and it contains a summary of the effects of the amendment:

Lets take a look at a few of the key effects that Issue 1 will have.

Repeal Previous Amendments

Issue 1 would repeal previous amendments passed by Ohio voters in 2015 and 2018 meant to prevent gerrymandering. Proponents of Issue 1 don’t feel that these previous amendments do enough to prevent gerrymandering. So, Issue 1 would replace these amendments.

A New Committee

The core of Issue 1 is the creation of a new taxpayer-funded committee that would be in charge of creating electoral districts in Ohio. This committee would supplant the current role elected officials have in the districting process. Members of the committee would be selected in a complex process involving legislative appointees, former judges, a private search firm, back-and-forth selection, and even an element of randomness. The idea seems to be to remove partisan interests from the district creation process. The two major political parties would be required to hold a majority of the seats on the panel, and the details of the selection process would tend to produce a committee that contains roughly equal amounts of members from each side. This committee would be taxpayer-funded, and its decisions on the district lines would be ratified by a vote of nine out of the fifteen members.

Citizens Input

As I mentioned before, the members of this committee will be chosen without the direct input of the voters in a long, complex process. Additionally, communication and input from citizens to the committee will be limited, allowing them reduced input on the districting plans. The ability of citizens to file lawsuits based on the district proposals of the committee would also be significantly curtailed. And finally, members of the committee can only be removed by vote of their fellow members. Meanwhile, the commission would be funded and compensated by taxpayers.

Immediate Redistricting

If passed, the committee would immediately create a new districting plan to create the one most recently adopted in the State of Ohio.

Opinion

Note: what follows is the author’s opinion.

Issue 1 replaces elected officials, who are beholden to the will of the voters, with a committee of individuals several degrees removed from the will of the voters to create Ohio’s voting districts. Furthermore, it has provisions designed to further limit voter input and objection on the districting process. But the whole group is going to be funded by the taxes of Ohioans. As citizens, we get to have a say in the decisions our government makes. That means we need strong, direct input on the voting districts our government creates.

Why should we give up our decision-making power to former judges and private search firms? And why impose so many limitations on how citizens can influence and challenge voting policy in our own state? Issue 1 asks Ohioans to give up our say in election districting to a bureaucratic, unaccountable government committee. Issue 1 asks much of Ohioans, and doesn’t give much back. That is why I will be voting “No” on Issue 1.