Members of Ohio’s Redistricting Commission were served notice earlier this month that Ohioans have had enough of the mess the commission purposefully made of our voting districts. According to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, the group Citizens Not Politicians managed to collect more than 731,000 signatures to prove the point.
The effort was aimed at getting an amendment to the Ohio Constitution placed on the Nov. 5 general election ballot, which would replace the commission with one made up of citizens.
According to a report by the Ohio Capital Journal, retired Republican Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor called the effort “one of the most widely supported citizen-initiated constitutional amendments in Ohio’s history.”
“Gerrymandering has long silenced communities like mine, but today, we stand to change that,” Desirae Futel, of Cincinnati, told a crowd gathered to celebrate the petition’s delivery.
Even Gov. Mike DeWine has gone on record as saying he does not believe redrawing should be carried out by politicians — and he was a member of the commission.
Ohioans agree this is a problem; and have decided change is coming.
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