In Columbus, Ohio, election officials have finalized the ballot language for this year’s Issue 1, a redistricting measure, despite criticism that the description inaccurately portrays the proposal as promoting gerrymandering instead of combating it. The Ohio Ballot Board, controlled by Republicans, approved the language in a 3-2 partisan vote, with the state Supreme Court later voting 4-3, led by Republicans, to address discrepancies found in the initial wording.
The court’s decision required revisions to two out of eight contentious sections of the ballot description, with the remaining six upheld, despite objections from the issue’s proponents. The group behind the November 5 amendment, Citizens Not Politicians, filed a lawsuit last month arguing that the language was highly biased, misleading, and unconstitutional.
The bipartisan proposal aims to replace Ohio’s flawed political redistricting system with a 15-member commission comprising Republicans, Democrats, and independents. This initiative follows the declaration of seven post-2020 Census congressional and legislative maps as unfairly gerrymandered in favor of the Republican party.
State Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson, a Democratic member of the ballot board, criticized the approved language, accusing it of being designed to deceive voters. On the other hand, Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who heads the board, declined to answer press inquiries following the decision.
In its ruling, the state Supreme Court emphasized that it could only overturn the ballot board’s language if it was deemed to mislead voters. The majority of the justices concluded that most of the wording accurately detailed the proposed amendment without being deceptive. However, two sections relating to the timeline for filing lawsuits against the new commission’s redistricting plan and public involvement in the map-drawing process were identified as misrepresentations.
The specific language of the constitutional amendment will be displayed at polling places to inform voters accurately about the proposed changes.