COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – 810 boxes with 731,306 signatures from all 88 Ohio counties were dropped off at the Ohio Secretary of State’s office Monday morning by a coalition called Citizens Not Politicians.
Its goal is to qualify for the November election so it can ask voters whether redistricting should be in the hands of everyday Ohioans, or if the job should remain in the hands of elected officials .
‘Breach of contract:’ Why the Ohio Cannabis Festival has been canceled
The amendment, if passed in November, would create a 15-person redistricting commission entirely composed of citizens.
“They’re Republicans, Democrats and independents, registered voters,” retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Conner said. “They’re not party operatives. They’re not people who have a relationship with elected officials.”
“I think there’s a few fundamental problems,” Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said. “I think that the people who are making an important decision like this ought to be elected officials who are accountable to the public. Not unknown bureaucrats somewhere, someplace.”