Bulk of Ballot Board’s Issue 1 language upheld by court

(The Center Square) – Ohio's Supreme Court sided with the Ohio Ballot Board on language for Issue 1 on the ballot in November.

The court ruled 4-3 – with all four Republicans agreeing – six of the eight challenged provisions of the language adopted by the board can stay for the Nov. 5 general election. Two, however, must be changed.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced Tuesday that a Ballot Board meeting would be Wednesday to make the adjustments. Republicans have a 3-2 majority. It voted along party lines to approve the initial ballot language.

The two provisions that must be rewritten deal with limits on challenging the decisions in court and the public’s right to influence the commission.

“This decision is a huge win for Ohio voters, who deserve an honest explanation of what they’re being asked to decide," LaRose said. "The court’s opinion reinforces that this proposed amendment does in fact require the gerrymandering of Ohio’s legislative and congressional districts, and that’s something the dark money foreign billionaire behind this bad idea has consistently tried to deny.”

Democrats called the ballot language false and misleading, and said the court ruling is flawed.

“The Republican-controlled Ohio Supreme Court simply rubber-stamped the purposely inaccurate and misleading Issue 1 ballot language,” said House Minority Leader Allison Russo, R-Upper Arlington. “The people are tired of power-hungry politicians using lies and misinformation to distract from the real problems they face. That’s why Ohioans will not only vote ‘yes’ on Issue 1, but they will also remove politics from the Supreme Court and elect judges who will return respect and the rule of law to the highest court in our state.”

Issue 1 would change how the state establishes congressional and statehouse districts, removing the process from the Ohio Redistricting Commission – a political group made up of five Republicans and two Democrats – and putting it into the hands of a nonpolitical citizen committee made up of 15 people, consisting of Republicans, Democrats and independents.

Citizens Not Politicians, a bipartisan coalition pushing the amendment, submitted proposed language for the ballot that included 15 members who have no disqualifying conflicts of interest and have shown an ability to conduct the redistricting process with impartiality, integrity and fairness.

It also said each redistricting plan shall contain single-member districts that are geographically contiguous, comply with federal law, closely correspond to the statewide partisan preferences of Ohio voters and preserve communities.

Instead, the Ballot Board approved language stating that the new commission would be "required to gerrymander" the districts.

The court’s opinion said it could only force changes to the language if it found the wording would mislead, deceive or defraud voters. The majority ruled most of the language did not.

Democrats on the court, in their dissent, said nearly the entire language should be rewritten.