Ohioans have rejected Issue 1 – the constitutional amendment attempting to ban gerrymandering, according to News 5 election partner Decision Desk HQ.
Issue 1 would have created a 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (OCRC), made up of Republican, Democratic and independent citizens who broadly represent the different geographic areas and demographics of the state. They would have been tasked with fairly drawing legislative and congressional maps.
Currently, Ohio lawmakers draw the maps — ones that directly impact them and their colleagues. This led to Ohio’s redistricting mess in 2022, when a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court struck down seven different approved maps, saying that the GOP members of the commission were drawing lines to unfairly benefit their party – gerrymandering.
The supporters of Issue 1 complained that the ballot language was confusing on Issue 1 after the GOP-controlled ballot board changed the language to say it would “require” the commission to “gerrymander.”