When Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved constitutional amendments to reform redistricting in 2018, they thought they were ending gerrymandering for good. Both Republicans and Democrats promised the new process would “ensure bipartisan cooperation” and create fair maps that truly represent Ohioans.
Instead, what we’ve witnessed is a masterclass in how to exploit loopholes and ignore voter intent.
“The flaw is really the timing, because if you run out the clock, you can do whatever you want. And all of (those) good government ideals about bipartisanship kind of go out the window,” explained Laura Johnston during Monday’s episode of Today in Ohio, cleveland.com’s daily news podcast.
This fundamental flaw in the constitutional amendment – the ability to simply wait until deadlines pass – has allowed politicians to sidestep the reforms entirely. Despite multiple Ohio Supreme Court rulings declaring proposed maps unconstitutional, Republicans have managed to maintain and even strengthen their gerrymandered advantage by simply waiting out the clock.
The result? A state where 10 of 15 congressional seats are firmly in Republican control, despite the state’s much more balanced voter registration. And they’re looking to grab even more.
“I think what we tend to forget every time we talk about the breakdown of government is that everything about government in America is based on good faith,” said Chris Quinn, editor of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. “We believe that the people who get the positions of power are doing so and will act in good faith… There hasn’t been good faith in Ohio government now for a decade, where we’ve seen it over and over and over again, where they overrule the vote of the people.”
This collapse of good faith governance reaches the highest levels of state government, including Governor Mike DeWine, who once promised to help fix gerrymandering during his campaign.
“He broke a major promise that he made to Ohio voters that he would help fix gerrymandering,” noted Leila Atassi. “Remember, he once admitted that politicians should not be drawing their own district lines. And during the campaign over Issue 1, he promised that if voters rejected that plan, he’d lead the charge for a better alternative. And then once issue one failed, he backed away from that.”
Issue 1 was a gerrymandering reform that Republicans doomed by writing its ballot language to appear as if the reform itself was gerrymandering. It would have created a citizens commission every 10 years to draw the lines, a system that has proven successful in Michigan.
The implications politicians refusing to operate in good faith extend far beyond abstract concerns about map-drawing. As Johnston pointed out, “Gerrymandering sounds kind of wonky, like redistricting. It’s not a really populist issue, but it is, because everything stems from who is representing you.”
When politicians choose their voters instead of voters choosing their politicians, the entire democratic system breaks down. Policies on education, healthcare, taxation, and civil rights all flow from who sits in those legislative seats.
The current redistricting process will continue this fall, following the same predictable pattern: The General Assembly has until the end of September to pass new maps with bipartisan support, which won’t happen. Then the Redistricting Commission (5 Republicans, 2 Democrats) gets a chance until October 30th. Finally, Republican lawmakers can pass maps without any Democratic votes by the end of November.
And we all know how this story ends.
The question remains whether Ohio voters will continue to tolerate this blatant disregard for their clearly expressed will. Perhaps what’s needed, as Quinn suggested, is for communities to identify people who would operate in good faith and persuade them to run for office – building a bench of leaders who might eventually restore integrity to Ohio’s governance.
Until then, the redistricting charade continues, making a mockery of voter-approved reforms and demonstrating just how far we’ve strayed from the good faith governance that democracy requires.
Listen to the discussion here.
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Listen to full “Today in Ohio” episodes where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.