Common Cause Ohio Briefing Spotlights Flaws in Redistricting Bill

Common Cause Ohio organized a press briefing last week to discuss proposed changes to Ohio’s system of legislative redistricting. Dan Tokaji of The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law described Ohio Rep. Matt Huffman as a “wolverine in sheep’s clothing” for sponsoring a bill falsely claiming it would require bipartisan consensus on the redistricting commission it creates. Under Huffman’s proposal, a legislative map lacking support from the minority party would be placed on the ballot as a voter referendum. As Tokaji noted, voters would be confused by a process asking whether legislators should redraw the map in which a “yes” vote means that the commission’s map would be rejected. A “no” vote, which Tokaji states is more likely due to voter skepticism of legislators and commissions, would mean that the map would remain in place. As a result, opposition from the minority party would ultimately do little to prevent a gerrymandered map from being implemented. Read the Cincinnati Enquirer’s coverage of the briefing and an editorial backing real reform.