Ohio Group Refiles Ballot Language for Citizen-Led Redistricting Commission
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, Sept. 5, Citizens Not Politicians resubmitted summary language for a constitutional amendment that would implement a citizen-led redistricting commission in Ohio. The move comes after Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) rejected previously submitted summary language for the amendment last month.
In a letter, Yost wrote that the original summary was not a “fair and truthful representation of the proposed amendment,” claiming that the language was confusing, misleading and contained a material misrepresentation, among other supposed issues.
In a statement announcing the refiling, Citizens Not Politicians said the group “made adjustments in response to the Attorney General’s guidance and refiled our summary of the petition along with thousands of signatures from everyday Ohioans who understand that the current politician-run system is broken…”
The proposed amendment would create a commission consisting entirely of citizens, and evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and independents. Although Ohio has had a redistricting commission since 2018, it consists solely of elected officials or individuals appointed by them, and the Republican-controlled commission has repeatedly refused to pass fair maps.
Yost now has 10 days to review the revised language and determine if it is a fair and truthful summary of the proposed amendment.