Ohio Bipartisan Congressional Redistricting Commission Initiative (2018)

Ohio Bipartisan Congressional Redistricting Commission Initiative
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Redistricting measures
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens
List of Ohio measuresOhio Issue 1 - MayOhio Issue 1Submit

The Ohio Bipartisan Congressional Redistricting Commission Initiative was not on the ballot in Ohio as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.

The ballot initiative was withdrawn after the legislature passed and voters approved the Congressional Redistricting Procedures Amendment on May 8, 2018.

The measure would have required the bipartisan redistricting commission established via Issue 1 of 2015 to draw and approve U.S. congressional districts in Ohio. Issue 1 made the bipartisan redistricting commission responsible for state legislative districts, but not congressional districts. As of 2017, the state Legislature was tasked with drawing congressional districts.

The measure would not have changed the membership of the bipartisan redistricting commission, but would have prohibited members of Congress from serving on the commission.

The commission would have been required to draw congressional districts based on specific criteria, with prioritization given in the following order:

(a) compliance with state and federal law;

(b) contiguousness of districts;

(c) no district drawn to favor or disfavor a political party or candidate;

(d) minimize number of splits between districts of counties, municipal corporations, and townships;

(e) maximize statewide proportion of districts corresponding with partisan preference of voters in state and federal elections during previous 10 years; and

(f) maximize compactness.

The measure would have required the secretary of state to, upon request, make available to U.S. citizens residing in Ohio the computer software and data to draw a congressional districts map. The redistricting commission would have established a time period for citizens to submit plans to the commission for its consideration.

Text of measure

Constitutional changes

See also: Article XI, Ohio Constitution

The measure would have amended Sections 1, 7, and 9 of Article XI and add a Section 3a to Article XI of the Ohio Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Section 1

(A) The Ohio redistricting commission shall be responsible for the redistricting of this state for the United States congressional house of representatives and for the general assembly. The commission shall consist of the following seven members:

(1) The governor;

(2) The auditor of state;

(3) The secretary of state;

(4) One person appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

(5) One person appointed by the legislative leader of the largest political party in the house of representatives of which the speaker of the house of representatives is not a member;

(6) One person appointed by the president of the senate; and

(7) One person appointed by the legislative leader of the largest political party in the senate of which the president of the senate is not a member.

The legislative leaders in the senate and the house of representatives of each of the two largest political parties represented in the general assembly, acting jointly by political party. shall appoint a member of the commission to serve as a co-chairperson of the commission.

(8) No appointed member of the commission shall be a current member of Congress.

(B)   (1) Unless otherwise specified in this article. a simple majority of the commission members shall be required for any action by the commission.

(2)   (a) Except as otherwise provided in division (B)(2)(b) of this section, a majority vote of the members of the commission including at least one member of the commission who is a member of each of the two largest political parties represented in the general assembly, shall be required to do any of the following:

(i) Adopt rules of the commission;

(ii) Hire staff for the commission;

(iii) Expend funds.

(b) If the commission is unable to agree, by the vote required under division (B)(2)(a) of this section. on the manner in which funds should be expended, each co-chairperson of the commission shall have the authority to expend one-half of the funds that have been appropriated to the commission.

(3) The affirmative vote of four members of the commission, including at least two members of the commission who represent each of the two largest political parties represented in the general assembly shall be required to adopt any general assembly district plan. For the purpose of this division, a member of the commission shall be considered to represent a political party if the member was appointed to the commission by a member of that political party or if, in the case of the governor, the auditor of state, or the secretary of state, the member is a member of that political party.

(C) At the first meeting of the commission, which the governor shall convene only in a year ending in the numeral one, except as provided in Sections 8 and 9 of this article. the commission shall set a schedule for the adoption of procedural rules for the operation of the commission.

The commission shall release to the public a proposed general assembly district plan for the boundaries for each of the ninety-nine house of representatives districts and the thirty-three senate districts. The commission shall also release to the public a proposed congressional district plan for the boundaries of the districts for the prescribed number of congressional representatives as apportioned to the state pursuant to the Constitution of the United States. The commission shall draft the proposed plan in the manner prescribed in this article. Before adopting, but after introducing, a proposed plan, the commission shall conduct a minimum of three public hearings across the state to present the proposed plan and shall seek public input regarding the proposed plan. All meetings of the commission shall be open to the public. Meetings shall be broadcast by electronic means of transmission using a medium readily accessible by the general public.

The commission shall adopt a final congressional district plan and a final general assembly district plan not later than the first day of September of a year ending in the numeral one. After the commission adopts a final plan, the commission shall promptly file the plan with the secretary of state. Upon filing with the secretary of state, the plan shall become effective.

Four weeks after the adoption of a congressional district plan and a general assembly district plan, the commission shall be automatically dissolved.

(D) The general assembly shall be responsible for making the appropriations it determines necessary in order for the commission to perform its duties under this article.

Section 3(a)

(A)   (1) The whole population of the state, as determined by the most recent federal decennial census, shall be divided by the number of congressional representatives as apportioned to the state pursuant to the Constitution of the United States, and the quotient shall be the congressional ratio of representation for ten years next succeeding such redistricting.

(2) The commission shall minimize the extent to which each congressional district’s population differs from the congressional ratio of representation to comply with federal constitutional standards and in doing so shall adhere to the criteria set forth in division (C) of this section in the creation of congressional districts. The commission shall include in a congressional district plan an explanation of the reason that any district contains a population that is not equal to the congressional ratio of representation.

(B) Any citizen of the United States permanently residing in the state of Ohio may submit a congressional district plan for the Ohio redistricting commission’s consideration. The office of the Ohio Secretary of State shall make available upon request by any Ohio citizen the data and computer software needed to draw a legally valid map in accord with the criteria in division (C) of this section. The Ohio redistricting commission shall establish and publicly announce a time period of at least two weeks for the public to submit plans for the United States Congress and the general assembly for the commission’s consideration.

(C) The Ohio redistricting commission shall draw congressional districts to maximize compliance with the following criteria. If all of the criteria cannot feasibly be maximized, then priority shall be given based on the order in which each criterion is listed below.

(1) Any congressional district plan adopted by the commission shall comply with all applicable provisions of the constitutions of Ohio and the United States and of federal law, including, but not limited to, those protecting minority voting rights.

(2) Every congressional district shall be composed of contiguous territory, and the boundary of each district shall be a single nonintersecting continuous line.

(3) No congressional district plan shall be drawn to favor or disfavor a political party or candidates.

(4)   (a) The Ohio redistricting commission shall minimize the number of splits of counties, municipal corporations, and townships, in that order, and, where feasible, no county shall be split more than once.

(b) A county, municipal corporation, or township is considered to be split if any portion of its territory is not contained entirely within one district.

(c) For the purposes of this section, if a district is entirely contained within a single county, that district shall not be considered to be a county split.

(d) For the purposes of this section, if a municipal corporation or township has territory in more than one county, the municipal corporation or township shall not be considered split so long as all portions of that municipal corporation or township within a county are contained within a single district.

(5) The Ohio redistricting commission shall maximize representational fairness by adopting a plan whose statewide proportion of districts most closely corresponds to the partisan preferences of the voters of Ohio as measured by the statewide proportion of votes in state and federal partisan statewide general election results during the previous ten years.

(6) To the extent that is compatible with the other criteria, the congressional district plan shall attempt to maximize compactness.

(7) The commission shall provide a written statement explaining how the congressional district map maximizes compliance with the criteria found in this division, in the priority order in which they are listed.

Section 7

Notwithstanding the fact that boundaries of counties, municipal corporations, and townships within a district may be changed, district boundaries for both the United States Congress and the general assembly shall be created by using the boundaries of counties, municipal corporations. and townships as they exist at the time of the federal decennial census on which the redistricting is based, or, if unavailable, on such other basis as the general assembly has directed.

Section 9 Section 9 (A) The supreme court of Ohio shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction in all cases arising under this article.

(B) In the event that any section of this constitution relating to redistricting, any congressional district plan or general assembly district plan made by the Ohio redistricting commission, or any district is determined to be invalid by an unappealed final order of a court of competent jurisdiction then, notwithstanding any other provisions of this constitution, the commission shall be reconstituted as provided in Section 1 of this article, convene, and ascertain and determine a congressional district plan or general assembly district plan in conformity with such provisions of this constitution as are then valid, including establishing terms of office and election of members of the United States Congress or the general assembly from districts designated in the plans, to be used until the next time for redistricting under this article in conformity with such provisions of this constitution as are then valid.

(C) Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution or any law regarding the residence of senators, and representatives, or members of Congress, a congressional district plan or general assembly district plan made pursuant to this section shall allow thirty days for persons to change residence in order to be eligible for election.

(D)   (1) No court shall order, in any circumstance, the implementation or enforcement of any general assembly district plan that has not been approved by the commission in the manner prescribed by this article.

(2) No court shall order the commission to adopt a particular general assembly district plan or to draw a particular district.

(3) If the supreme court of Ohio determines that a general assembly district plan adopted by the commission does not comply with the requirements of Section 2, 3, 4, 5, or 7 of this article, the available remedies shall be as follows:

(a) If the court finds that the plan contains one or more isolated violations of those requirements. the court shall order the commission to amend the plan to correct the violation.

(b) If the court finds that it is necessary to amend not fewer than six house of representatives districts to correct violations of those requirements, to amend not fewer than two senate districts to correct violations of those requirements. or both, the court shall declare the plan invalid and shall order the commission to adopt a new general assembly district plan in accordance with this article.

(c) If, in considering a plan adopted under division (C) of Section 8 of this article, the court determines that both of the following are true, the court shall order the commission to adopt a new general assembly district plan in accordance with this article:

(i) The plan significantly violates those requirements in a manner that materially affects the ability of the plan to contain districts whose voters favor political parties in an overall proportion that corresponds closely to the statewide political party preferences of the voters of Ohio, as described in division (B) of Section 6 of this article.

(ii) The statewide proportion of districts in the plan whose voters, based on statewide state and federal partisan general election results during the last ten years, favor each political party does not correspond closely to the statewide preferences of the voters of Ohio.

Initiative sponsors

The Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition led the campaign in support of the initiative.

Coalition

The Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition lists the following organizations as members of its coalition on its website:

• League of Women Voters of Ohio
• Common Cause Ohio
• AAUW of Ohio
• America Votes
• Applied Information Resources
• Asian Services in Action
• Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio (COHHIO)
• Columbus Chapter Alumnae of Delta Sigma Theta
• Democratic Voices
• Equality Toledo
• Fair Elections Legal Network
• Faith Coalition for the Common Good
• Faith in Public Life
• Independent Lines Advocacy
• Innovation Ohio
• National Council of Jewish Women Cleveland Section
• National Council of Jewish Women Columbus Section
• No Labels Ohio
• Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates
• Nuns on the Bus Ohio
• Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence
• Ohio Council of Churches
• Ohio Education Association
• Ohio Environmental Council
• Ohio Farmers Union
• Ohio Student Association
• Ohio Unity Coalition
• Ohio Voice
• Ohio Voter Rights Coalition
• Policy Matters Ohio
• ProgressOhio
• Unitarian Universalist Justice Ohio

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Ohio

The state process

In Ohio, the number of signatures required to get an initiated constitutional amendment placed on the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Ohio also requires initiative sponsors to submit 1,000 signatures with the initial petition application. Ohio has a signature distribution requirement, which requires that signatures be gathered from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties. Petitioners must gather signatures equal to a minimum of half the total required percentage of the gubernatorial vote in each of the 44 counties. Petitions are allowed to circulate for an indefinite period of time. Signatures are due 125 days prior to the general election that proponents want the initiative on.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2018 ballot:

• Signatures: 306,591 valid signatures were required to get an indirect initiative on the ballot, including 1,000 signatures to file the proposal and 305,591 signatures for the initiative.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit the signatures was July 4, 2018.

County boards of elections are responsible for verifying signatures, and the secretary of state must determine the sufficiency of the signature petition at least 105 days before the election. If the first batch of signatures is determined to be insufficient, the petitioners are given a ten-day window to collect more signatures.

Details about this initiative

First petition submission

Petitioners submitted a petition for the initiative, along with 2,446 signatures, to the Ohio attorney general on April 24, 2017. Supporters were required to turn 1,000 signatures in with the petition.

On May 4, 2017, Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) rejected the petition summary as fair and truthful. He said:

“

I have identified two material omissions between the summary and the proposed amendment. First, the summary fails to mention that Section 9(A) of the proposed amendment vests the Supreme Court of Ohio with exclusive, original jurisdiction over court challenges to any congressional district plan. Similarly, the summary omits the fact that Section 9(B) would apply to congressional district plans.

”

Second petition submission

Responding the Attorney General DeWine's rejection of the summary on May 4, proponents of the initiative said they would start collecting initial signatures within a few days and submit new petition language. On May 10, 2017, petitioners submitted their second petition, along with 3,153 signatures, to the Ohio attorney general.

On May 22, 2017, Attorney General Mike DeWine certified the initiative petition as fair and truthful. He then forwarded the petition to the Ohio Ballot Board. The board confirmed that the petition met the state's single-subject rule. On May 30, 2017, supporters were allowed to begin collecting signatures.

The ballot initiative was withdrawn after the legislature passed and voters approved the Congressional Redistricting Procedures Amendment on May 8, 2018.

See also

Suggest a link

• 2018 ballot measures
• Ohio 2018 ballot measures
• Laws governing the initiative process in Ohio
• Redistricting in Ohio

External links

• Initiative Petition