Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine opposes redistricting ballot measure

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine opposes a constitutional amendment that would remove politicians like himself from drawing congressional and state lawmakers' districts.

The proposed amendment would replace Ohio's current method of drawing maps for congressional and state legislative districts, a process called redistricting. Instead, a 15-member citizen panel without close political ties would craft districts.

Backers of the amendment, called Citizens Not Politicians, say the changes are needed to prevent gerrymandering, which is when one political party draws districts to favor their candidates unfairly and disproportionately.

But DeWine contends that's exactly what the measure would do.

"Ohio would have gerrymandering in the extreme," said DeWine, a Republican who has repeatedly said he wants to remove politicians from the redistricting process.

Citizens Not Politicians and Democrats called DeWine a flip-flopper intent on confusing and misleading voters.

"The disinformation from the governor today is insulting to everyone in Ohio, and especially insulting to the half a million Ohioans − Republicans, Democrats and independents − who put the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment on the November ballot," said former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican who helped craft the measure.

What plan does DeWine want instead? One from Iowa

Instead, DeWine wants Ohio lawmakers to adopt Iowa's redistricting model, where the state's nonpartisan legislative service commission draws districts that lawmakers then approve.

That doesn't remove politicians from the process, but DeWine said Ohio could tweak what Iowa does while keeping the state's focus on compact districts without considering partisan data, such as how many Republicans or Democrats live in the area.

"I like Iowa's criteria," DeWine said. "Are there other ways of deciding who actually draws it? Yeah."

DeWine did not call Ohio lawmakers back to session to pass a competing redistricting plan − a rumor swirling around Capitol Square in recent weeks and a possibility DeWine was considering. But passing a different plan would have been nearly impossible because Aug. 7 is the deadline for lawmakers to place a constitutional amendment on the fall ballot. Infighting among Republican lawmakers and summer vacations also could have imperiled any swift action.

"I've had conversations," DeWine told reporters Wednesday. "I don't know if there's support in the House. One thing I've learned to do is kind of figure things out like that."

DeWine wants lawmakers to get to work on redistricting in January − even if voters approve the measure this fall. DeWine tried a similar pitch last year when he promised to fight for abortion exceptions if voters rejected an abortion rights measure. It passed, 57-43% .

Top Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate praised DeWine's rejection of the redistricting ballot measure but did not immediately weigh in on his proposed fix.

"Once Issue 1 is defeated, we will continue to work to ensure all Ohioans voices are heard and represented," Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, said in a statement.

And Democrats immediately panned the idea. “Removing politicians from Ohio’s redistricting process is our only path to ensure fair maps in the future. We are Ohio, not Iowa," said Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood. “The governor’s proposal today appears to be another eleventh-hour attempt to subvert the will of the people and keep a stranglehold on the GOP artificial supermajority."

House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, called DeWine and fellow Republicans desperate to hold onto their "gerrymandered grip on power."

And Citizens Not Politicians' O'Connor slammed DeWine for "already scheming to overturn what voters will pass in November."

Why DeWine doesn't like Citizens Not Politicians' plan

DeWine said he opposes the proposed amendment because it would prioritize proportionality, which requires maps to match the recent statewide voting results, at the expense of fair districts.

“Such incentives to gerrymander will only be worse under the proposed constitutional amendment,” DeWine said.

The proposed constitutional amendment requires mapmakers to draw maps that "correspond closely" to the statewide partisan preferences of voters. That means the statewide proportion of districts that favor a political party can't deviate by more than 3 percentage points from the statewide partisan preferences of Ohio voters unless that's mathematically impossible.

After that, mapmakers will ensure districts have equal populations, ensure racial, ethnic and language minorities aren't cut out of the voting process and preserve communities of interest, such as school districts or neighborhoods.

“The governor is correct about proportionality, also known as “representational fairness,'" Ohio Senate Republicans spokesman John Fortney said. "It is the textbook definition of gerrymandering. If you hated the 'snake on the lake,' the so-called citizens' campaign will bring it back in a big way."

DeWine joins the Ohio Republican Party in opposing the amendment, which could reduce the odds of Republicans winning seats in the state Legislature and Congress. The Ohio Democratic Party backs the proposal. Citizens Not Politicians calls itself bipartisan and nonpartisan.

If approved by voters, the new redistricting panel would include five Republicans, five Democrats and five independent voters. Current lobbyists, elected officials and political consultants could not participate on the new commission, which retired judges would help select.

What happened with Ohio's last redistricting reform

DeWine was part of the last redistricting process, which he likened to the Spanish flu. "No one died, thank God, but it was at least personally unpleasant," he said.

A divided Ohio Supreme Court repeatedly ruled that Republican politicians, including DeWine, had approved gerrymandered maps to benefit their candidates. At one point, Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, opined that Republicans could be entitled to up to 81% of legislative seats. After a protracted process and multiple lawsuits, elected Republicans and Democrats ultimately agreed on statehouse maps to use through 2030.

That's an issue opponents of the new measure will hammer home.

"It’s important to remember that the current system, approved by more than 70% of the voters, produced a unanimous bipartisan vote that approved maps for the General Assembly over the remainder of the decade," Fortney said.

O'Connor, in her statement, concluded that Republicans were simply confused. "Since the governor demonstrated in his rambling and disjointed press conference today that he does not understand our amendment, I am offering to sit down and meet with him to explain it," she said.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio .

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine opposes redistricting ballot measure