End Gerrymandering in Ohio:
Citizens Not Politicians Amendment (Issue 1)

Over 80 bipartisan Ohio business and thought leaders signed an open letter in support of a constitutional amendment advanced by Citizens Not Politicians to create an Independent Citizen Commission for statehouse legislative and congressional redistricting.

Issue 1 would have ended gerrymandering by empowering citizens, not politicians, to draw fair districts using an open and transparent process. It incorporated best practices adopted by other states like Michigan and Arizona.

According to the Princeton University Gerrymandering Project, Ohio has some of the most skewed maps in the country; the Project gives the current Ohio congressional maps a “D”.

Specifically, the amendment would have: 

• Created the 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission made up of Democratic, Republican, and Independent citizens who broadly represent the different geographic areas and demographics of the state. 

• Required fair and impartial districts by making it unconstitutional to draw voting districts that discriminate against or favor any political party or individual politician.

• Required the commission to operate under an open and independent process. 

• Banned current or former politicians, political party officials, lobbyists, and large political donors from sitting on the Commission.

The amendment and summary can be found here.

Press Release: January 24th

Open Letter

As Ohio business and community leaders from all corners our state, we strongly support the proposed constitutional amendment to create an Independent Citizen Commission for legislative and congressional redistricting advanced by the organization “Citizens Not Politicians.”

A robust, functioning democracy is central to this country’s greatness and critical to sustaining our free enterprise system. Business depends on a healthy, vibrant democracy – one that reflects the will of the citizenry and that establishes stable rule of law.     

One crucial aspect of ensuring a robust representative democracy are legislative districts that ensure fair representation of the voting population. The sad reality in Ohio is that political leaders of both parties have abused the system. 

Partisan-driven political efforts to predetermine outcomes of elections take us further down a dark path in which people no longer believe in our institutions. We know this to be true because, collectively, we have employed thousands of Ohioans.

Skewing election results so that our legislative bodies reflect the will of politicians — rather than the citizenry — leads to policies that are plainly out of sync with the people.  This hinders effective policy development, sends the wrong message to the public and poses a risk to attracting and retaining the best 21st century talent, so vital to our state’s well-being.

The constitutional amendment before us would empower a truly independent citizen-led process to draw congressional and state legislative maps.  Building on successful best practices from other states, the Ohio proposal would ban gerrymandering, prohibit consideration of individual incumbents or candidates when drawing maps, and ensure an open and transparent redistricting process with extensive and meaningful public input.  

We are grateful for the bipartisan leadership of retired Republican Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and former Democratic Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown for joining hands to spearhead this effort. We also recognize the hard work on redistricting reform in Ohio over the years by so many civic groups across our state. We are proud to stand with them in supporting this crucial reform for Ohio. 

The stakes could not be higher for this state we so dearly cherish and love.

Please Fill Out The Form Below If You Would Like To Add Your Name And Join Business Leaders In Support Of The Citizens Not Politicians Amendment To End Gerrymandering In Ohio.

“The sad reality is that Ohio's congressional districts are graded a 'D' for partisan fairness by Princeton University’s Gerrymandering Project. This practice has led us down a precarious path. It creates a system where election outcomes are predetermined, eroding public trust in our institutions — a fact we understand deeply, as employers of thousands of Ohioans. When legislative bodies mirror the will of politicians rather than the people, it results in policies misaligned with the needs of real people. This not only hampers effective policymaking, but sends a cynical message to the public and, worse case scenario, repels top talent and their families from investing their future in our state." — Richard Stoff, Senior Advisor, Leadership Now Project

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