Two former Ohio Supreme Court justices say voter-approved changes to curb partisan gerrymandering failed because of one simple reason: self-serving politicians.
Former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a Republican, and former Justice Yvette McGee Brown, a Democrat, instead pitched their proposal to replace elected officials with a 15-member citizen commission to draw congressional and statehouse districts. They plan to put the issue on the November ballot.
“It’s about allowing citizens to draw fair lines that keep their communities intact and not about politicians perpetrating their own electoral survival,” McGee Brown told the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s Impact Ohio conference Thursday. “And just so you’re clear, both sides have done it.”