Tuscarawas County is divided.
Northeast Ohio County is split into two congressional districts – the 6th and 12th.
“It’s frustrating because we’re split down the middle,” said the Tuscarawas Democratic Party chairman. Gail Garbrandt, translation: Anna Maria Stachurska “People don’t know which part of the county is in the 6th and which part is in the 12th. Why can’t we all be in one congressional district?”
Tuscarawas County is not the only county in Ohio that is located in multiple congressional districts.
Franklin, Hamilton, and Cuyahoga counties are located in two different congressional districts, but Ohio’s three largest cities — Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland — are located in those counties, respectively.
“There are some places, like Columbus, that are too big to fit into a congressional district,” he said. University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven. ““You have to separate them.”
Clark, Delaware, Holmes, Stark, Miami, Fayette and Wyandot counties are also split into two different congressional districts.
Who represents 6 and 12?
Republican Michael Rulli serves in the 6th Congressional District, which stretches from Mahoning County to Washington County. Rulli was elected to Congress by special elections last month.
Republican Troy Balderson represents the 12th Congressional District, which includes Guernsey, Muskingum, Coshocton, Morgan, Athens, Perry, Fairfield, Licking, Knox, and parts of Delaware, Holmes, and Tuscarawas counties. Balderson has served in the 12th District since 2018.
Garbrandt imagines sharing county representation with another congressman would be a challenge.
“There are so many other factors at play,” she said. (*2*)
Rullie and Balderson’s office did not respond to the Capital Journal’s request for comment.
Causing a stir
Niven said that when electoral district maps are drawn that divide counties into two districts, it can cause confusion.
“It’s completely natural for people to assume we’re all in the same neighborhoods,” he said.
Garbrandt said she has experienced this herself while working at the Election Commission, and said they have had to turn away early voters from the 12th District who came to the Tuscarawas Election Commission office wanting to cast their ballot in the recent 6th Congressional District by-election.
On the other hand, some people prefer to stay home and not vote because they do not want to face the embarrassment of incorrectly selecting their constituency.
“It’s horrifying” Garbrandt said.
In an attempt to reduce confusion, he tries to encourage Tuscarawas County voters the opportunity to receive postal ballots.
Tuscarawas County Republicans declined to be interviewed by the Capital Journal.
Amendment concerning reapportionment of electoral districts
Citizens Not Politicians is trying to solve Ohio’s gerrymandering problem by seeking to add an amendment to the Ohio Constitution establishing a citizens’ redistricting commission.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office recently 535,005 signatures confirmed for the referendum initiative Citizens, Not Politicians.
The Ohio Redistricting Commission currently consists of the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, the President of the Ohio Senate, the Governor, the Secretary of State, the State Auditor, and the two minority party leaders of the legislature.
““This is not intended to protect serving officials” Garbrandt said.
The Citizens Not Politicians amendment would replace the current 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission. Five of its members would correspond to the political party of the governor at the time, five would be from the party of the gubernatorial candidate who received the second-highest number of votes in the most recent election, and five would be independents.
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