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Ohio votes against Issue 1, rejecting a plan to put citizens’ panel in charge of redistricting

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Voters have rejected the redistricting proposal to change how legislative and congressional district maps are drawn which would have replaced the seven elected officials on the Ohio Redistricting Commission with a 15-member panel of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. That’s according to the Associated Press, which called the race around 11:15pm.

Ohio Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou announces that Decision Desk HQ has called Issue 1 for the "no" side.
Ohio Republican Party Chair Alex Triantafilou announces that Decision Desk HQ has called Issue 1 for the “no” side. [Daniel Konik | Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau]
Issue 1 was mirroring the presidential race throughout early returns, with the “no” votes leading as the Republican presidential ticket did. The Associated Press called Ohio for Republican Donald Trump at 9:08pm.

Supporters of Issue 1 include Democratic organizations, unions and civil rights groups. They turned in than more than 750,000 petition signatures to put it before voters this November. Most elected Republicans opposed the amendment. Republicans approved ballot summary language that outraged supporters called misleading and some voters found confusing.

Issue 1 would have created a 15-member panel of five Republicans, five Democrats, and five independents, to replace the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which is composed of seven elected officials. The Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission’s maps would be drawn based on a proportionality formula that corresponds closely with the results of the last six statewide elections – in this case,the statewide elections in 2018, 2020 and 2024.

Opponents said the amendment would create a panel of unaccountable commissioners who are not elected by voters, and that the proportionality formula will require gerrymandering. But supporters touted the complex process to weed out people with political connections, and said the new process won’t create maps that are gerrymandered to unfairly benefit one party over the other.

Read the amendment language here.

Read the Ballot Board summary language here.