Supporters hold signs with maps of Fair districts during the Citizens Not Politicians rally on July 1, 2024 at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal. Only repost photo with the original article.)
While redistricting reform may not be on the ballot again this election season, the people who put forward initiatives and constitutional amendments are not sitting on their hands. They argue that the outcome of the 2024 campaign informed the progress of advocacy leaders.
“I actually think that now is an incredibly important time for any future redistricting initiative to continue to talk about these issues and connect this issue to all other issues across the country,” said Collin Marozzi, advocacy director of the ACLU of Ohio.
Ballot initiatives are an crucial part of making change in government, and many across the state now see them as one of the few ways to make changes that most Republicans won’t budge on, such as reproductive rights and marijuana.
While the initiated marijuana bill was a success (although legislative success remains to be determined) and reproductive rights were solidly approved for inclusion in the Ohio Constitution, the recent redistricting reform decision to move to a citizen-led method rather than chosen by elected officials also did not fare so well.
While many reasons have been given for the issue’s failure, the idea of a renewed effort in the face of a densely populated and heavily funded 2026 election does not appeal to participants in the previous initiative.
“While our determination to provide Ohio with fair maps and a transparent process has not wavered, we consider the strategic and political obstacles that stand in the way of a successful election campaign,” Marozzi told the Capital Journal.
Many things go into the process of putting a constitutional amendment or other measure on the ballot. First, there is an incentive to circumvent legislative provisions if the problem has not reached the level that advocates believe it should, often after years of trying to convince lawmakers.
“Unfortunately, there are times when the Legislature will not take action, so the ability for everyday Ohioans to pull out their notebooks and register to vote is transformative,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
Often, as Ohio showed during the property tax debate, even the hint of an upcoming vote can be enough to spark at least some action among elected officials.
The language of change
When the needle doesn’t move, initiative leaders go to work – with the lend a hand of policy and legal experts – to develop language that frames the issue.
The idea must be straightforward for voters to digest, but also legally enforceable and allow for an extension of the change period after voters approve the measure.
“We can spend all the money in the world advertising what they see on TV or what they see on their phones, but ultimately the last thing they see before they vote is the language of the ballot,” said Jeff Dieringer, a policy and research strategist for the SEIU 1199 labor union. “And in most cases, that will be the factor that determines whether they check yes or no.”
It doesn’t lend a hand that issues that have failed recently are statistically likely to fare worse in future attempts, and constitutional change will begin with higher-level scrutiny before the issue even comes to the table.
“If an issue is highly controversial, voters will most likely say no,” said Catherine Turcer, head of the voting rights group Common Cause in Ohio. “Voters who are unsure are likely to say no.”
Some supporters point to the 2023 Reproductive Rights Amendment as a good example of being straightforward to understand, as opposed to the complicated and lengthy changes in a border change proposal.
“It was informative because it was short, but at the same time tangibly understandable to the public,” Miller said. “(Voters) knew what rights we had before Roe v. Wade was gutted, and that protected those rights.”
Even with the right choice of words, the source of the struggle now is whether the language will remain the same from the supporters’ table all the way to the official vote.
“Now we have to take into account … the type of institutional role and the worst voting language that could be used,” Marozzi said.
The Ohio Board of Elections, which has the final say on what amendments appear on Ohio ballots, has faced much criticism changes they made to the redistricting reform amendment in 2024, which added language saying the redistricting commission would be “required to review” the state’s redistricting maps.
Supreme Court of Ohio maintained most of the changesincluding this particular change, to the surprise of many people.
Would you like to get in touch?
Have a news tip?
“The language was so Orwellian, I couldn’t imagine they would agree with it,” Turcer said.
But because of the successes they’ve had at elected official-led institutions like the Ohio Board of Elections, even with moves they say were misleading and intentionally one-sided, those leading the charge for change see the need for more comprehensive changes.
“We are not necessarily ready for major systemic changes in early 2026.” – said Turker. “But we deserve to participate in a democracy that is not rigged by things like rigged electoral district boundaries and fraud at the ballot box.”
While changing officeholders could be a step forward, Turcer said the change environment in Ohio has grown to include more than just individual elected officials.
“Lying has now become part of the process, and a changing of the guard could disrupt the system for several years,” Turcer said. “However, this does not mean that one side or the other cannot easily return to dirty deeds because one political party is in power.”
Then comes the money
The art of assembling a battalion of volunteers to collect the more than 400,000 signatures in more than 40 counties necessary to put a decision in the hands of those who could approve the language has changed over the years.
“Obviously you don’t just donate that amount. Usually the goal is to get to about twice that amount,” Dieringer said.
Volunteers are no longer enough, supporters say, and the money must go to entities that verify signatures.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an all-volunteer ballot that successfully qualified (for the ballot),” Dieringer said. “It’s just not possible given the schedule you work.”
Like it or not, money is the driving force behind ballot initiatives that get signatures, get information into voters’ eyes, and ultimately enable voters to make a decision.
“The language is not enough, and it is not enough to think about whether you can collect enough signatures in time,” Turcer said. “It’s not enough to just vote, you have to actually convince people to vote for him.”
Getting to the finish line means media marketing, even in Indiana and West Virginia, where markets overlap with Ohio. Radio campaigns work better in rural areas, such as southeastern Ohio, where broadband access is not as reliable as in other areas. Social media campaigns are common these days, and both supporters and opponents need to get innovative in promoting their views.
“Ohio is incredibly expensive (for elections), you have a very large population and there are many media markets,” Marozzi said. “You really need to do a full landscape analysis to see where and how you will raise the necessary amount of money.”
Another factor in how supporters persuade donors and voters is whether the election is likely to see high turnout, as in presidential years, or in an off-year when there are not many other candidates or issues to attract voters.
“Donors don’t want to commit large sums of money to an effort that is a coin toss as to whether it will win or not,” Marozzi said. “But they also don’t want to spend money on ineffective communication.”
For now, Marozzi and other advocates say this represents a destitute path to success for something like zoning reform. However, this does not mean that other ways of making changes are not possible.
“The League of Women Voters will not rest until we stop Gerry’s partisan gerrymandering,” Miller said. “But now we are focused on making sure every Ohioan has what they need to participate freely and fairly in every primary and general election.”
Voters should look to the future, asking candidates what they will do to represent voters’ interests, and telling candidates what voters need.
“There seems to be change in the air, but when we think about politics, we shouldn’t just think about the next election,” Turcer said. “We should be thinking about how we can support and engage each other, from book clubs to attending public hearings.”
Conversations with people in book clubs, coffee shops and congregations give the impression that there is a consensus on what is right and wrong in Ohio, Marozzi said. Conversations taking place outside the ballot box are crucial as voters wait to cast their ballots.
“It doesn’t get lost on people that … (elected officials) are saying that citizen votes don’t really have any impact, and that leaves a bad taste in the mouth for people,” Marozzi said.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
