COLUMBUS – Two former state representatives from opposite sides of the aisle, Matt Huffman and Vernon Sykes, kicked off a campaign on Wednesday for a ballot issue that, if passed, would aim to carve Ohio’s legislative districts in a more bipartisan fashion.
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The joint resolution passed the House and the Senate last year with rarely seen bipartisan support from state lawmakers, who hope to prevent gerrymandered districts in the majority party’s favor — whether that’s Democrats or Republicans.
So far, the constitutional amendment hasn’t been met with any “organized opposition,” Sykes said, though it still hasn’t gained an official endorsement from the Ohio Democratic Party, which is considering it.
The Ohio Republican Party has endorsed the plan, as has the state’s top elections official, Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted.
“Our government can only function as it was intended if the people can select their own representatives, but for too long, the politicians have instead selected their voters by drawing districts that nearly guarantee their own reelection. This is not fair and it is not self-government,” Husted said in a statement issued by his office Wednesday. “I applaud the continued bipartisan work to make sure the people of Ohio understand the proposal before them this fall and are able to embrace the opportunity to reform their government for the better and for the long term.”
Redistricting occurs every 10 years. Current lines were drawn in 2012 by Republicans, who now control 67 percent of Ohio’s legislative seats.
The “Fair Districts for Ohio” issue has three main components, Huffman said during a news conference on Wednesday in the Statehouse: Create a more transparent district-drawing system that gives Ohioans more input; make it so that maps receive a minority vote or be approved only on a four-year basis that’s unattractive to time-strapped legislators on both sides of the aisle; and create new rules for how the maps are drawn in the first place.
The committee that re-draws districts would be a seven-member bipartisan panel called the “Ohio Redistricting Commission,” which would include at least two members from the minority party and be co-chaired by two members, one chosen by each party. A map would require at least two votes from each party to be approved.