A charter amendment was on the ballot for Columbus voters in Franklin County, Ohio, on May 8, 2018. It was approved.
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A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to change the composition of the city council from seven at-large members to nine by-district members and to establish procedures for implementing by-district elections.
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A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter to change the composition of the city council from seven at-large members to nine by-district members and to establish procedures for implementing by-district elections.
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Election results
| Columbus Issue 3 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage |
 a Yes | 64,285 | 76.06% |
| No | 21,358 | 24.94% |
- Election results from Franklin County Board of Elections
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[1]
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- Transitions city council from seven members elected at-large to nine members elected from districts by the electors of the city.
- Provides for the foregoing transition in 2023; and maintains staggered terms for council elections as part of the transition.
- Requires council to hold at least one public hearing prior to filling any vacancy on council; requires that vacancies be filled by a person living in the district from which a vacancy occurs; expands from 30 to 45 days the time council has to fill a vacancy; and requires council to establish, in the administrative code, the procedure for filling vacancies.
- Establishes an independent, citizen-led five-member districting commission to draft proposed council districts, with four members appointed by a 2/3 vote of council and the fifth member, who serves as chair, jointly appointed by the mayor and council president.
- Bans city employees, elected officials, candidates, and lobbyists from serving on the districting commission; and requires that members be registered electors in Columbus.
- Tasks the districting commission with drawing three council district plans and submitting them to council within nine months.
- Establishes the criteria for drawing council districts, including, but not limited to, compliance with local, state and federal laws and constitutions, including the Voting Rights Act; roughly equal population; contiguous boundaries; geographic compactness, where practicable; maintaining neighborhoods and communities of interest, where practicable; using existing boundaries, like roadways, election precincts, and existing district, where practicable; and prohibiting the drawing of districts to favor or disfavor any political group.
- Requires the districting commission to make at least three council district plans available for public inspection and comment no less than 30 days prior to approval and submission to Council.
- Provides for members of the public to submit plans for consideration by the commission.
- Directs the districting commission to hold at least nine public meetings in nine different areas of the city.
- Requires council to vote for one of the three plans by the end of the year it was submitted; and states council may not amend any plan, except to comply with specific legal requirements, or to address changes in municipal boundaries due to annexation.
- Updates the votes necessary for council actions after the transition from seven to nine members.
- That amendments to Secs. 41-3 (Nomination of municipal officers) and 41-5 (Election of municipal officers) shall go into effect and be in force from and after January 1, 2023.
- That amendments to Secs. 17 (Legislative procedure), 18 ([Action on ordinances or resolution]), 20 ([Reading procedure]), 22 (Emergency measures), 173 (Hearing on objection), 193 (Period of grants), and 236 (Charter Review Commission) shall go into effect and be in force from and after January 1, 2024.
- That all other amendments listed herein shall go into effect and be in force from and after completion of the official canvass of the election.
Shall the proposed Amendment to the Columbus City Charter be adopted?
[2]
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Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Ohio
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of Columbus, Ohio.
See also
External links
