The organization behind an effort to change the Ohio Constitution by rewriting the rules for apportioning voting districts via a constitutional amendment announced it will file a lawsuit in the Ohio Supreme Court this week after the Ohio Ballot Board adopted ballot provisions the group does not support.
The Citizens, Not Politicians campaign group’s proposed amendment, Citizens, Not Politicians, will be put before Ohio voters on the November 5 general election ballot as Issue 1.
Every 10 years after the U.S. Census, the seven-member Ohio Redistricting Commission is tasked with redistricting Ohio’s 99 House of Representatives and 33 Senate districts to reflect the most recent census results.
The constitutional amendment proposed by Citizens Not Politicians would replace the Ohio Redistricting Commission by creating the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission, which would be composed of 15 members — five Democrats, five Republicans and five independents — and would not allow current or former elected officials to serve on the commission.
On Friday, the Ohio Ballot Board, chaired by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, he voted to finalize the language describing the constitutional amendment that voters will see on the November 5 general election ballot.
However, Citizens Not Politicians said the ballot content approved by the Voting Board is “illegal and inaccurate” and is intended to “mislead Ohio voters.”
One of the changes the Election Commission made to the constitutional amendment’s description said the proposed redistricting commission would be “committed to gerrymandering” state House and congressional districts, rather than “manipulating the boundaries” of those districts.
Citizens, not politicians, additionally Identified three other sections of the approved ballot language with which he disagrees, stating that he will seek an expedited order from the Ohio Supreme Court “directing the Voting Board to fulfill its legal obligation to adopt ballot language for Question 1 that is truthful, impartial, and consistent with all requirements of the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Constitution.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at Ohio Star AND Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Citizens, not politicians” by Citizens, not politicians.
