The Ohio Senate on Monday passed a Bipartisan Proposal to change how Ohio draws its Congressional Districts, advancing the proposed Constitutional Amendment one step closer to appearing on the May Ballot. Advocates for Redistricting Reform say the proposed Changes will curb the Legislature's ability to Gerrymander Districts to favor a Political Party or Incumbent.
The Senate Approved a Revised Senate Joint Resolution 5 in a 31-0 vote. The House will Vote on the Resolution Tuesday, one day before the Deadline to place a Measure on the May Ballot. "Hopefully this is an issue that will serve Ohioans for many decades to come," Sen. Matt Huffman (12th District), the Lima Republican Leading the effort, said.
Monday night's vote is the end of four months of Bipartisan Negotiations, which accelerated in recent weeks and culminated in a Super Bowl Sunday Meeting in Akron. Lawmakers also worked with the Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition, a group of more than 30 Organization that have been collecting Signatures for a November Ballot Measure. The Measure approved Monday was a compromise among Republicans, Democrats, and Redistricting Advocates. The Plan keeps the Legislature in charge of drawing Congressional District Maps, but adds additional steps at which Minority Party support is needed to put a Map in place for 10 years.
Sen. Vernon Sykes (28th District), an Akron Democrat, said the final Proposal provides significant and sufficient checks and balances on the process. "This plan is not the plan we would have written but it's not the plan our colleagues from the other side of the aisle brought to us," Sykes said.
Ohio's current process allows the Majority Party to slice and dice Counties and Cities to create Safer Districts. Under the current Map, drawn by Republicans in 2011, the GOP holds 12 of Ohio's 16 Seats while only winning 56% of the votes.
The Plan approved Monday establishes, for the first time, criteria for keeping Districts Compact and Limiting the number of times Counties, Cities, Villages, and Townships can be Divided into Multiple Districts. The Majority Party could still pass a Map without Minority buy-in, but it would only be good for Four years and be subject to additional Restrictions.
Heather Taylor-Miesle, Executive Director of the Ohio Environmental Council and one of the Fair Districts Leaders, said the changes will lead to more Competitive Districts. "When congressional members have to listen to their citizens, they don't have to just care about their votes, they have to care about what they care about," Taylor-Miesle said.
Huffman said it's a complicated process in part because it represents the work of many people weighing in on the Proposal. He said the next Redistricting process in 2021 will be more Transparent by making all the data Public and requiring Public Hearings on the Maps.
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