The US Constitution will prevent the Citizens' Commission from realigning the districts for our Congressional representatives.
Voters First is sponsoring Issue 2 this November to create fairer legislative districts. Currently, the party controlling two of three executive offices controls the redistricting board. The Republicans created districts that will allow Democrats to only win a slim minority of Congressional seats. It also means that the Republicans filter for extreme right wing candidates in the primary. Further, residents who are at the extreme ends of the gerrymandered districts will have no real congressional representation. The worst example of this is that a few Akronites will be represented by a legislator whose district is largely eastern Cleveland.
Issue 2 will create a Citizens' Commission to redraft the districts for federal and Ohio legislators. I anticipate that federal districts won't get redistricted in time for the 2014 elections because they will be held up in court cases for a long time or quashed. The Ohio judiciary is GOP, as is the Supreme Court of the United States.
Per David J. Owsiany in the Columbus Dispatch:
First, portions of Issue 2, if adopted, likely would be tied up in litigation and could very well be found to be unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution gives the authority to regulate the manner of holding elections for U.S. Representatives to the “legislature” in each state. Capital University Law Professor Mark Brown argues that the section of State Issue 2 that takes the authority related to congressional redistricting away from the elected state legislature and gives it to an unelected commission is inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution and will almost certainly wind up in federal court if State Issue 2 passes.
http://www.dispatch.com/...
Article 1, Section 2:
1: The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.
At least we will can the Ohio General Assembly to right before the 2014 elections. If we elect Democrats in both houses, the legislature can draft a proper redistricting bill and have it signed after we are rid of Governor Kasich in 2017.