COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio House passed a proposal that would overhaul the way the state draws legislative districts to give the minority power in the Statehouse more control over it, but Ohio’s top elections official immediately spotted a flaw.
The House on Thursday voted 80-4 to require that legislative lines be redrawn, based on population, by a seven-member panel. Two minority-party votes would be needed to adopt the boundaries.
However, Secretary of State Jon Husted said, while the proposal offers “new hope,” It contains a fatal flaw: A four-vote majority is all that is required to approve a new redistricting map.
“This proposal would grant the legislature a new and exclusive constitutional right to draw their own maps without any outside check and balance on this power,” Husted said.
His suggestion solution is to require a five-vote “super majority” to approve any map or a requirement that one of the four votes come from one of the statewide elected officials on the Reapportionment Board.
The current board is made up of the governor, Auditor, Secretary of State and a House and Senate member from each party.
Lacking the necessary votes, the majority party could draw the maps, but they could be in place only for four years instead of 10. They also must adhere to geographic rules that would make it tougher to draw districts that favor one party.
The state alters district lines to reflect population shifts identified by the U.S. Census once every 10 years. Both political parties have acknowledged flaws in Ohio’s line-drawing process.
“It has become clear over the years that people are disenchanted with partisan politics and some have lost faith in the democratic process,” said Democratic Leader Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-Columbus). ”Though I remain concerned that the process could still be abused by the majority party, I believe this is clearly an improvement from the partisan process that has existed in our state, one that has been an affront to the democratic process and has cheated voters for decades.”
Also at the Statehouse this week, the Senate unanimously approved a plan to amend the Ohio Constitution to allow an independent commission to set pay levels for elected officials.