Ohio voters approved a ballot measure on Tuesday that changes the congressional mapmaking process, a move proponents say will rein in excessive partisan gerrymandering.
By passing the ballot measure, called Issue 1, Ohioans amended their state Constitution to create four different pathways to draw congressional districts. The new process will go into effect in 2021, when the next round of redistricting takes place.
The complex process still leaves redistricting primarily in the hands of lawmakers, but it also builds in significant safeguards intended to prevent one party from shutting the other out of the process and drawing a severely unfair map….
However, some in the state were uncomfortable with the recently passed ballot proposal, saying it would still allow lawmakers complete control of the redistricting process. The Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, for example, did not take a position on the ballot measure, and its senior policy director expressed concern the process would encourage deals that are advantageous to politicians but not in the best interests of their constituents.
The ACLU worries that the minority party can still be coerced into agreeing to a map that egregiously benefits the party in power, despite this complex process.