Supporters of an Ohio redistricting measure that would strip politicians of the power to draw maps have filed a lawsuit because the campaign claims Republican-approved wording on ballots deceives voters.
Following a heated meeting of the Ohio Ballot Board on Friday, the Citizens Not Politicians campaign filed suit in the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday. The ballot text for the issue on the November ballot, which passed along party lines, emphasized that the proposed constitutional amendment would overturn previous language against gerrymandering that voters approved in 2015 and 2018.
But supporters say that language hasn’t worked. A divided Ohio Supreme Court has struck down several congressional and state legislature redistricting plans as gerrymandering that unfairly favors Republicans. Last year, seven state and legislative leaders unanimously approved redistricting plans for state legislatures — despite Democrats’ criticism of the process.
The Ohio Constitution requires that the wording on the ballot not mislead, deceive or defraud voters; if it does, the Ohio Supreme Court can invalidate it.
“This Court’s intervention is necessary to ensure that Ohio voters are provided with the truthful and impartial ballot titles and language required by law so that they can exercise their right to decide for themselves whether to amend the Ohio Constitution,” the lawsuit states.
Last year, the group supporting Ohio’s abortion rights amendment called the ballot language adopted by Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board “propaganda.” The Ohio Supreme Court ordered the board to change some of that language, but most of it remained. Despite this, Ohio voters approved the measure by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin.
Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which covers the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio..
