MIAMI VALLEY, Ohio (WKEF) – If Issue 1 passes, it would amend the Ohio Constitution so that a citizens’ commission would draw the district boundaries for the maps, rather than the politicians in office. Many people use the term “gerrymandering” when discussing how the maps are drawn.
Dayton 24/7 Now asked Dr. Daniel Birdsong, a political science professor at the University of Dayton, to define the term.
“In many cases, gerrymandering is about drawing districts to favor one side over the other,” Birdsong said.
Congressional district maps in the United States are redrawn every ten years because the census is conducted and reveals population shifts.
Birdsong explained why redistricting is necessary in a country with democratic processes.
“We need to make sure that there are roughly the same number of people living in each congressional district,” Birdsong said. “We need to draw boundaries that create equitable districts.”
In November, a vote will be held on an amendment to Ohio’s constitution that would impact electoral district redrawing.
Chris Davey, a spokesman for the group Citizens Not Politicians, said if Issue 1 is passed, the state would have to have the maps drawn by a citizens’ commission rather than politicians.
Davey said citizens could apply to serve on the commission. Five Democrats, five Republicans and five independents would be selected by the commissioners. The commissioners would be two retired judges from each major political party, for a total of four retired judges.
Davey explained the requirements for citizens who make it onto the Commission.
“The most important criteria is that they cannot be politicians. They cannot have served as politicians before. They cannot be lobbyists or other people who are part of the political machine. They have to be ordinary citizens of Ohio,” Davey said.
Birdsong said redistricting is different in every state, but there’s a reason gerrymandering is becoming a more common issue across the country.
“The biggest resistance to partisan redistricting is that they are redistricting for themselves and their parties,” Birdsong said. “At least the resistance from independents is that they are interested in fair maps. (…) They are resisting what is perceived at the state level as a partisan exercise.”
Birdsong told Dayton 24/7 Now in a statement how Ohio has changed in redistricting:
Republicans have controlled the redistricting process since 2000. That control has helped cement Republican control of the Statehouse and produce majorities in Ohio’s delegation in Washington, D.C. Consider this: I added together the statewide two-party votes of all 99 Statehouse districts for 1998, 2002, and 2022. As of 1998, Republicans won 53 percent of the statewide vote but received 60 percent of the seats in the Ohio House of Representatives. The ratio of votes to seats was already unbalanced before, and only became more lopsided over the next 24 years. (…) A similar analysis of Ohio’s congressional delegation shows that voting behavior in Ohio has not changed that much, but the way those votes translate into representation is skewed in Republican favor. In the 1998 midterm elections, Republicans won 53 percent of the vote in all races for seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, while Democrats won 47 percent. This meant 11 seats for Republicans (58 percent of seats) and eight for Democrats (42 percent of seats). In 2022, Republicans won 56 percent while Democrats received 44 percent of the statewide vote. After this election, Ohio’s delegation consists of 10 Republicans and five Democrats representing Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives. For Republicans, 56 percent of the vote means 66 percent of the seats, while for Democrats, 44 percent of the vote means 33 percent of the seats.
