Last year, when he was still in the Ohio Senate, Secretary of State Jon Husted tried to upset that dynamic with a constitutional amendment to change how this state redistricts. Husted wanted to create a seven-member apportionment board to draw new congressional and legislative lines. It would have taken five votes — including two from the minority party — to approve a map. More compact, competitive districts would have resulted.
One problem: Husted needed Democratic votes to send his idea to the people. But some of the same Democratic leaders who now decry the GOP map — and swear by the wisdom of the voters — believed they would do well enough in November to control the current apportionment process.
Because they were wrong, Ohio got a weird map — and a primal scream. It may be too late to revive Husted’s idea for this round of redistricting, but down the road it might change Ohio for the better. If that’s what the politicians really want.