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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > August > 03 > Entry
Redistricting reform won’t be on Nov. 2 ballot
There won’t be a proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2 ballot to change how Ohio draws state legislative districts.
“The corpse is definitely in the coffin,” Richard Gunther, Ohio State University professor of political science, said on Wednesday, Aug. 3. The issue is dead, at least for this year, Gunther added.
Gunther, House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, and state Sen. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, were among those seeking to reach a compromise. The deadline for getting a proposed amendment to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is Wednesday, Aug. 4,
Because there is no agreement, neither Budish nor Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, plans to call lawmakers back to Columbus in time to meet the deadline.
The House and Senate previously had passed different versions of a proposed amendment to change the current system, criticized as a winner-take-all process that produces uncompetitive districts.
The current system will stay in place with the five-member Apportionment Board drawing new districts next year based on the 2010 census. The board includes: the governor, secretary of state, auditor and a member of the legislature from each party. The party that controls two of the three statewide offices controls the board.
The Senate proposal also would have changed how U.S. House districts are drawn. Now the legislature and governor draw those districts based on the new census and that’s the system that will stay in place.
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By Skeptic
August 3, 2010 4:55 PM | Link to this
SHAME on the legislators for FAILING to pass this important reform. If there was ever a non-partisan reason to kick out an incumbent, this is it. How could they let down the entire state like this? The only reason is to keep the power in the hands of the few. This is about the only thing Husted was right about, and he couldn’t get it done. For shame.