Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot initiative just passed and it concerns redistricting. While the initiative is far from perfect in terms of eliminating gerrymandering, it should ensure congressional maps like the one Ohio has now are a thing of past. This had a lot of endorsements and had bipartisan support:
Issue 1 is endorsed by Common Cause Ohio, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, Ohio AFL-CIO, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Council of Churches, Ohio Education Association, Ohio Farm Bureau, the NAACP Ohio Chapter and Represent.US.
"Ohioans have one vote they can feel unreservedly good about casting May 8: Yes on Issue 1." Canton Repository editorial Yes on Issue 1 for Congressional Redistricting Plan, April 30, 2018.
"We strongly recommend voting 'yes' on state Issue 1 on May 8." Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com editorial Yes on state Issue 1, April 14, 2018
"Ohio voters have an excellent opportunity between today, when early voting begins, and May 8, primary election day, to have a big influence on future elections. They can do that by approving Issue 1..." Findlay-Hancock County Courier editorial 'Yes' on Issue 1, April 10, 2018
"State Issue 1 is good for Republicans. It's good for Democrats. But most of all, it's good for Ohio." Lima News editorial State Issue 1 Brings Fairness to Redistricting, April 7, 2018
Issue 1 has been endorsed by the Akron Beacon Journal/Ohio.com, the Athens News, the Cleveland Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com, the Columbus Dispatch, the Findlay-Hancock County Courier, and the Lima News. All the editorials
Here is how Ohio’s congressional maps would be drawn, under this plan:
Stage One: Passage of a map requires a three-fifths vote of both the House and Senate and must include at least 50 percent support of minority party members. If that doesn’t work…
Stage Two: Ohio’s existing seven-person bipartisan redistricting commission will be empowered to draw districts and must approve a map with at least two minority party votes. If that doesn’t work…
Stage Three: The legislature gets another chance to pass either (1) a 10-year map with one-third of the minority party’s support or (2) a four-year map with a simple majority. If the process gets to the last stage not requiring minority party support, stricter rules protecting against unfair manipulation would apply.
The only problem I see with the plan is that the minority party can sometimes be motivated to go along with a gerrymander that favors the other party because that would mean their incumbents are in ultra-safe seats (packing). Ideally, congressional maps would be drawn by an outside, nonpartisan group or commission. This was a huge issue in Pennsylvania, as a lot of the Philadelphia Democrats are in some hot water for supporting the GOP gerrymander that was struck down this year. This is why it’s very important that Ohio elects a Democratic governor this year, and preferably a Democratic Secretary of State and Auditor as well. That would go a long way to ensuring fair districts for the people of Ohio, although I still believe whatever gets passed under this plan will be very favorable to incumbents.
Here is how a nonpartisan map of Ohio might look —
Ohio would have 3 very competitive seats in the Northeast, and potential for another in Dayton. The Cincinatti seat could also be competitive in some elections. Republicans currently have a lopsided 12-4 advantage in the congressional delegation, this proposed map would give Democrats at least 6 seats out of 16 in a state that is still pretty evenly divided, while also keeping districts compact and following county lines as much as possible.
Alternatively:
I like the first map better, because I don’t like district 9 in this scenario. Republicans could also be competitive in districts 5, 16, and 14 on this map and Democrats can compete in districts 15 and 10, and possibly 9.