COLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio constitutional amendment that would drastically change the state's polarizing political mapmaking system will be on the November ballot, Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Tuesday.
According to LaRose, the campaign known as Citizens Not Politicians gathered verified signatures from 535,005 registered voters from 58 of Ohio's 88 counties, well above the minimum numbers required for the initiative to gain ballot access. The Ohio Ballot Board will meet next to finalize the specific ballot language for the issue.
If approved by a majority of voters this fall, the amendment would scrap the current Ohio Redistricting Commission made up of partisan statewide officeholders and lawmakers, instead replacing it with an independent body selected by the state's citizens. Those members would be dispersed evenly from all regions of the state and include members of both major political parties as well as independents.
Political redistricting has long been under the microscope in Ohio, and in 2015, voters approved the establishment of a new redistricting commission made up of seven members including the governor and secretary of state. The General Assembly later passed a law putting new guidelines in place that would allow for district maps to be redrawn sooner if they did not have enough support from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
However, Republicans currently hold large majorities in both the Ohio House and Senate, and the Redistricting Commission swings 5-2 in favor of the GOP. Following the latest census count in 2020, members pushed through several maps that state and federal courts found to be unconstitutionally slanted towards Republicans, and the 2022 General Assembly races even went ahead with districts that judges admitted were technically not lawful.
Advocates for the amendment hope it will end the days of gerrymandering in Ohio by creating districts that more accurately reflect the state's political leanings without glaringly favoring one party over the other. Former Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court Maureen O'Connor, who while on the bench consistently ruled against what she claimed were overtly partisan maps, has been one of the leaders of Citizens Not Politicians' effort.
"This certification is a historic step towards restoring fairness in Ohio's electoral process," O’Connor, a Republican who helped write the amendment proposal, said in a statement. "With this amendment on the ballot, Ohioans have the chance to reclaim their power from the self-serving politicians who want to stay in power long past their expiration date while ignoring the needs of the voters."
A date for the Ohio Ballot Board to discuss the ballot language has not been announced.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a breaking news story and will be updated.