While it is not a presidential election year, this November 3 might be the most important day you will ever cast your ballot in Ohio. And no, we are not talking about marijuana. We are talking about the very important, but sadly unexciting, issue of redrawing state legislative districts to be fairer. You Can Have a Direct Impact on Elections Redrawing legislative districts, redistricting, gerrymandering—whatever you call it—this is the first time in over 40 years that we the people will be able to vote on a major overhaul that has a chance to make a difference in how Ohio’s state legislators are elected to office.
Learn more about the state ballot issues, and why the ACLU of Ohio urges voting yes on Issue 1, no on Issue 2, and yes on Issue 3.
Voters are tired. Apathetic. Who could blame them? The way legislative districts are currently drawn, skewed so heavily towards the party in power, it feels like your vote doesn’t count. Issue 1 will change guidelines to help your vote have an impact. It creates the following new rules for politician’s districts:
- Cannot favor or disfavor a party
- Seats must be proportional to the number of individuals who vote for each party
- Must be compact
- Have very detailed rules on which communities can be split
- Will have very limited variability of their sizes
- Will not have any preference for previously drawn districts
While the districts will be redrawn by the elected officials in power, those in the minority party have to vote to approve the new plan. This means the minority party will have a voice. And your vote will mean more. Like many plans that are supported by both of the parties in power, there are compromises that had to be made. You can read more about them on the Fair Districts Ohio website. What Issue One Impacts Do you care about abortion rights? Are you supportive of increasing protections for LGBT Ohioans? Do you want police to be held more accountable? Keeping our prisons from overflowing with non-violent criminals? Or even local school district funding? Taxes? You may be noticing a theme here—voting yes on Issue 1 could impact every one of those issues, which are decided by your state legislators. A more representative district equals a fairer system. Vote YES on Issue 1 to make your vote mean more and make a difference for the future of all Ohioans.
