Redistricting proposal competes for attention
Associated Press
COLUMBUS
It’s the top issue on the fall ballot in Ohio, though not the one getting the most attention.
With less than three weeks before the Nov. 3 election, some backers are expressing nervousness that Issue 1’s victory is not entirely certain, as they work to inform voters about the bipartisan redistricting proposal during a season dominated by whether Ohio should legalize marijuana.
The ballot initiative seeks to revamp how the state draws legislative districts, affecting who represents residents at the Statehouse, and it’s designed to minimize the role of politics in the process.
Though the proposal has no organized opposition, it faces some challenges.
“We think it’s going to pass, but it’s fragile,” said former state Rep. Matt Huffman, the redistricting campaign’s Republican co-chair.
Ohio’s Republican and Democratic parties have endorsed the issue, along with the state chapters of the Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the American Civil Liberties Union and AFL-CIO.
The proposal’s sweeping support has led to the perception that voters will approve it, Huffman said. That view, along with a lack of immediate threat and focus on marijuana legalization, has hurt fundraising and efforts to make voters aware of the initiative.
Plus, Huffman said, “it’s not a terribly sexy issue.”
The ballot measure would substitute a redistricting system criticized for fostering gerrymandering by the majority party in exchange for a process that supporters describe as more fair, bipartisan and transparent. It creates a seven-member commission made up of the governor, secretary of state, auditor and four legislative appointees to draw the district boundaries. Two minority-party votes would be needed to adopt a 10-year legislative map. Without them, the majority could only draw a map lasting four years.
The redistricting campaign has between $250,000 and $300,000 to spend, backers said. That’s less than 2 percent of the roughly $20 million that the pro-pot supporters of Issue 3 claim.
Both Huffman and Vernon Sykes, the campaign’s Democratic co-chair, agreed that raising money would have been easier if the marijuana proposal was not on the ballot. Some contributors to the Issue 1 campaign are spending more to help defeat the legalization question.
Though the redistricting campaign lacks significant funds to widely spread its message, Huffman said it plans to send direct mail to voters and run radio ads.