To create an appointed redistricting commission not elected by or subject to removal by the voters of the state
Proposed Constitutional Amendment
Proposed by Initiative Petition
To repeal Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Article XI,
Repeal Sections 1, 2 and 3 of Article XIX,
And enact Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of Article XX of the Constitution of the State of Ohio
The proposed amendment would:
- 1) 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.
2) Establish a new taxpayer-funded commission of appointees
required to gerrymander the boundaries of state legislative and congressional
districts to favor either of the two largest political parties in the state of
Ohio, according to a formula based on partisan outcomes as the dominant factor,
so that:
A) Each district shall contain
single-member districts that are geographically contiguous, but state
legislative and congressional districts will no longer be required to be
compact; and
B) Counties, townships and cities
throughout Ohio can be split and divided across multiple districts, and
preserving communities of interest will be secondary to the formula that is
based on partisan political outcomes.
3) Require that a majority of the partisan commission
members belong to the state’s two largest political parties.
4) Prevent a commission member from being removed, except by
a vote of their fellow commission members, even for incapacity, willful neglect
of duty or gross misconduct.
5) Prohibit any citizen from filing a lawsuit challenging a
redistricting plan in any court, except if the lawsuit challenges the
proportionality standard applied by the commission, requirements pertaining to
an incumbent elected official’s residence, or the expiration of certain
senators’ terms, and then only before the Ohio Supreme Court.
6) Create the following process for appointing commission
members: Four partisan appointees on the Ohio Ballot Board will choose a panel
of 4 partisan retired judges (2 affiliated with the first major political party
and 2 affiliated with the second major political party). Provide that the 4
legislative appointees of the Ohio Ballot Board would be responsible for
appointing the panel members as follows: the Ballot Board legislative
appointees affiliated with the same major political party would select 8 applicants
and present those to the Ballot Board legislative appointees affiliated with
the other major political party, who would then select 2 persons from the 8 for
appointment to the panel, resulting in 4 panel appointees. The panel would then
hire a private professional search firm to help them choose 6 of the 15
individuals on the commission. The panel will choose those 6 individuals by
initially creating a pool of 90 individuals (30 from the first major political
party, 30 from the second major political party, and 30 from neither the first
nor second major political parties). The panel of 4 partisan retired judges
will create a portal for public comment on the applicants and will conduct and
publicly broadcast interviews with each applicant in the pool. The panel will
then narrow the pool of 90 individuals down to 45 (15 from the first major
political party; 15 from the second major political party; and 15 from neither
the first nor second major political parties}. Randomly, by draw, the 4
partisan retired judges will then blindly select 6 names out of the pool of 45
to be members of the commission (2 from the first major political party; 2 from
the second major political party; and 2 from neither the first nor second major
political parties). The 6 randomly drawn individuals will then review the
applications of the remaining 39 individuals not randomly drawn and select the
final 9 individuals to serve with them on the commission, the majority of which
shall be from the first and the second major political parties (3 from the
first major political party, 3 from the second major political party, and 3
from neither the first nor second major political parties).
7) Impose new taxpayer-funded costs on the State of Ohio to
pay the commission members, the commission staff and appointed special masters,
professionals, and private consultants that the commission is required to hire;
and an unlimited amount for legal expenses incurred by the commission in any
related litigation.
8) Limit the right of Ohio citizens to freely express their
opinions to members of the commission or to commission staff regarding the
redistricting process or proposed redistricting plans, other than through
designated meetings, hearings and an online public portal, and would forbid
communication with the commission members and staff outside of those contexts.
9) Require the commission to immediately create new
legislative and congressional districts in 2025 to replace the most recent
districts adopted by the citizens of Ohio through their elected
representatives.
10) Impose new taxpayer-funded costs on the State of Ohio to
pay the commission members, the commission staff and appointed special masters,
professionals, and private consultants that the commission is required to hire;
and an unlimited amount for legal expenses incurred by the commission in any
related litigation.
If approved, the amendment will be effective 30 days after
the election.
