COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is considering redistricting reform that is meant to combat gerrymandering. Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau sat down for a one-on-one with the governor to discuss what needs to happen to fix what many call a broken system.
This Q&A features moments from a 35-minute interview, along with some context around those answers. The first two segments of the interview can be found here and feature topics such as the results of the November election, gun violence across the state, and former President Donald Trump.
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This piece has been lightly edited for clarity.
Ohioans went to the polls in 2023 to make their voices heard, with each of the three campaigns — voting rights, abortion and marijuana — saying politicians weren't listening to them.
Trau: Do you think that the lawmakers are able to be held accountable for the decisions that they make?
DeWine: Well, I think lawmakers are held accountable. I mean, we have elections and people have the opportunity to vote.
DeWine’s argument is ... debatable.
He was part of the majority of the Ohio Redistricting Commission that ignored seven state Supreme Court decisions that told Republican members to stop drawing maps that disproportionately benefited them — and the districts were so broken that lawmakers were virtually untouchable.
Trau: You yourself have said that redistricting should not be decided by the politicians that would directly benefit from it. The bipartisan Supreme Court had said that Republicans gerrymandered. How can people be held accountable if they gerrymander their districts?
DeWine: I think the real question is: what do we do going forward?
Although that wasn't the "real question" being asked — DeWine said that he wished he wasn’t involved in the map-making process.
DeWine: It just didn't work. It was a mess. We need to change that and we need to have something that actually works. I don't think the legislature should be involved in redistricting. I don't think the governor should be involved. I would be very happy not to be involved in that in the future... I think that the real question is — somebody's gonna make these decisions, so how do you get people who are, in fact, impartial and who people can have trust in? And that, to me, is the real concern.
Former Republican Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, whose decisions were ignored in 2022, is leading the effort to change how Ohio draws maps. O'Connor, Citizens Not Politicians (CNP), and other nonpartisan groups of voting rights advocates have started collecting signatures needed to put a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2024 ballot. It would create a 15-member citizens redistricting commission made up of five Republicans, five Democrats and five independent Ohioans with no political ties.
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Trau: Do you think that the proposal for the independent redistricting commission is a good idea?
DeWine: Yeah, I'm still looking at that. I really haven't decided. I won't have a position on that yet.
Many Statehouse Republicans do not want this amendment to be passed. CNP is working its way up to about 415,000 signatures by this coming July.
Why many Ohioans feel politicians aren't listening or are actively ignoring citizens
Although feeling like a politician isn't listening is seemingly a constant issue with governments everywhere, 2023 was a momentous year for these claims in Ohio.
Even after the proposals on voting rights, abortion and marijuana were decisively chosen against the Republican supermajority, some members of the GOP are trying to scheme the system.
Some Statehouse Republicans have proposed putting Issue 1 from August back on the ballot. That Issue 1 would have raised the threshold for constitutional amendments to pass from 50%+1, a simple majority, to 60%. This means that 40% of Ohioans would get to choose the law.
August's Issue 1 was directly related to this November's Issue 1 on abortion.
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Groups all over the political spectrum, including law enforcement, unions, teachers and social justice groups, opposed it because it impacted more than just abortion. Raising it to 60% would also make it harder for issues like redistricting reform, minimum wage increase and municipal bonds to pass. Some Republicans argued it was a big government play — and a power grab.
After it failed, next came abortion and recreational marijuana on the ballot in Nov.
Dozens of Statehouse Republicans have spoken out or proposed legislation to prevent the abortion amendment from going into effect. Click here to view the timeline of every major statement or proposal.
Statehouse leaders have backtracked and now say they have no current plans to overturn Issue 1, but lobbyists told News 5 that anti-abortion groups are planning a new constitutional amendment overturning November's Issue 1, and another is planning a 15-week proposal for the ballot.
When it comes to marijuana, many citizens reached out to News 5, spoke at the Statehouse and rallied online to protest against the lawmakers changing weed policy.
A bill passed by the Ohio Senate is restrictive in comparison to the current law regulating marijuana use. It reduced the amount of weed someone could possess, banned smoking in most places and made the substance more expensive.
The House is fighting back against this, saying it goes against the will of the voters.
RELATED: Recreational marijuana policy looks hazy before Ohio lawmakers go on winter break
These were just a few of the many examples, which is why CNP is fighting hard for redistricting reform.
"We’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response across the state for our nonpartisan movement to end gerrymandering in Ohio," group spokesperson Chris Davey said. "Signature gathering has continued through the holiday season, and we are excited to continue building and expanding our coalition in the new year."
Redistricting laws changed in 2018. There was a huge outcry to combat gerrymandering in the years leading up to that election. By a nearly 75-25% vote, Ohioans chose a new redistricting system, one that was supposed to prevent supermajority power from dictating maps.
This redistricting system was "doomed to fail" from the start, O'Connor told News 5. Politicians found a way to exploit the process, she added.
If politicians weren't able to protect themselves in their districts, Ohio may have more realistic and fair representation, advocates for the reform argue.
Regardless, both people for and against the redistricting amendment say something needs to change — whether it is the system itself or the individuals on the court.
Then Ohio wouldn't have to spend millions of dollars on an extra election or be an embarrassment to the rest of the country for not getting it together before an important midterm.
Read the full amendment below:
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