COLUMBUS, Ohio — The campaign to end gerrymandering in Ohio has raised six times the amount their opponents have, with an award-winning film director and the owners of the Cleveland Browns donating for and against the Nov. ballot amendment.
"We have a real chance to change how our legislature is elected in Ohio through Issue 1 this year," Cuyahoga County voter Wendy Leatherberry said.
For Leatherberry, a vote yes on Issue 1 is a no-brainer.
"It's the opportunity to end gerrymandering — and therefore have a legislature that more reflects our population," she said.
Gerrymandering is the purposeful manipulation of boundary lines to favor one political party.
Currently, Ohio lawmakers draw the maps — ones that directly impact them and their colleagues.
We broke down what Issue 1 will do.
RELATED: What does a yes vote on Ohio Issue 1 mean? What does a no vote mean?
The Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) is made up of seven spots. Two will always go to Republicans and two to Democrats in the Statehouse. The three remaining seats include the governor, secretary of state and auditor.
This led to the Ohio Redistricting Mess of 2022, where a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court struck down seven different passed maps, citing that the GOP members of the commission were drawing lines to unfairly benefit their party.
Voting yes on Issue 1 would create a 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (OCRC), made up of Republican, Democratic and independent citizens who broadly represent the different geographic areas and demographics of the state.
It bans current or former politicians, political party officials, lobbyists and large political donors from sitting on the commission.
It requires fair and impartial districts by making it unconstitutional to draw voting districts that discriminate against or favor any political party or individual politician. It also mandates the commission to operate under an open and independent process.
The commissioners would draw the maps based on federal law, also taking into account past election data on partisan preferences. The commission would make sure that each district has a reasonably equal population and that communities of interest are kept together.
Voting no on Issue 1 would be rejecting the independent commission proposal and keeping the current setup. Voting no could also mean you are hopeful that Republicans will keep to their word of proposing a "solution" to make the system better in the future months.
Breakdown
A newly released campaign finance filing shows Citizens Not Politicians, the vote yes side, has raised nearly $40 million since the beginning of 2024.
Of the total, 83% has come from out of state.
The largest contributors of money are progressive or nonpartisan groups in the Washington, D.C. area, funding about 65% of the campaign so far. The Virginia donations came from Arlington, which can be referred to as the D.C. area.
Article IV has spent the most — $10.5 million — in Ohio. It is a nonpartisan group of Democrats, Republicans and independents "defending American democracy," their website says.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a progressive PAC, has donated $6.7 million.
The Ohio Education Association, with help from its national and local chapters, has donated more than $4 million.
When it comes to individual donors, film director Steven Spielberg even pitched in. He, with his wife and actress Kate Capshaw, donated $100,000. The award winner was born in Cincinnati. I reached out for comment but have not heard back.
Opponents of Issue 1 have said they aren't surprised that the money is coming from liberal donors.
"They're trying to change it and have gerrymandering so they can get back in power," Medina County Republican Bruce Christopher said.
He is supporting Ohio Works, the vote no campaign.
In their financial filing, they have raised about $6 million in total.
Of that amount, 52% comes from out of state.
The largest contributors are conservative groups from D.C. and Ohio.
American Jobs and Growth donated the largest amount — $1.75 million. It is a conservative super PAC with ties to utilities and gas policy, according to the Energy and Policy Institute.
Ohioans for a Healthy Economy, a conservative group, gave $1 million.
American Action Network, another GOP-related PAC, donated $400,000.
One of the largest individual donations came from Cleveland Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam with $100,000. I reached out to the Haslam family for a statement but have not heard back.
The opponents of Issue 1 argue that the difference in financial support proves that Democrats are trying to get control.
"Their policies over the years have been not well-liked and they've lost in some cases 60-40," Christopher said.
Leatherberry disagreed.
"We're a purple state, we're not this flaming red Ohio that some people think we are," she said. "A red state doesn't pass last year's Issue 1 and enshrine reproductive rights in the constitution."
The amendment campaign organizers say Issue 1 is not Democratic versus Republican, but citizens versus politicians — that is why it is raising so much money.
With the 2024 general election underway, we created a guide on everything you need to know about voting on or before Nov. 5.
RELATED: 2024 OHIO VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
