On May 8, Ohio voters will vote on a measure to reform the redistricting process after Republicans gerrymandered the crap out of the state in 2011. The bill is an improvement over the current system but far from perfect. Approving this ballot measure would initiate a potential four-step process in drawing a new map.
Ohio lawmakers came up with a new, more bipartisan way to draw lines for congressional districts. There are several steps to ensure the party with fewer members in the state Legislature – currently the Democrats – have a say.
- Step 1: Ohio lawmakers would draw the lines for Ohio's 16 (or maybe 15 if the state loses one after the census) congressional districts. If 60 percent of lawmakers in each chamber, including half of the minority party, approve the map then it will last for 10 years.
- Step 2: If lawmakers can’t agree, a seven-member commission would make a map. That commission includes the governor, auditor, secretary of state and four lawmakers – two from each of the major political parties. Any plan would need approval from four of the seven members, including two votes from the minority party, to last 10 years.
- Step 3: If the commission can’t agree, the lawmakers would have another chance to make a map. At that point, legislators would need only one-third of lawmakers from the minority party to agree with the plan for it to last 10 years.
- Step 4: If that doesn’t work, the party with more members can draw the map without input from the minority members. However, they need to follow some strict rules, and the map would last for only four years.
Unfortunately, the lawmakers still get the first say in the process, and only if they can’t agree on a new map will a commission take over — and that commission will largely be made up of lawmakers also. The biggest problem with this is that this could lead to bipartisan, pro-incumbent gerrymandering — better than one-party rule, but still an affront to voters.
It will also be interesting to see, if the SCOTUS kills gerrymandering altogether this summer, how this affect Ohio’s new plan, assuming it is approved, which it likely will be.