COLUMBUS – Former Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor brings down the gavel on the shameless lying politicians in a powerful new Yes on 1 ad now airing statewide.

“When I was Chief Justice, our Supreme Court ruled gerrymandered maps unconstitutional seven times. Politicians drew maps to benefit themselves and their party,” says O’Connor as she stands in the historic Cuyahoga County Courthouse. “Now politicians are lying about Issue 1.”

O’Connor is a lifelong Republican and was the first female Chief Justice in Ohio history. She is the state’s longest-serving woman officeholder with a career as a public servant spanning four decades. She served as the first woman elected as Prosecutor in Summit County and as Lieutenant Governor to Republican Gov. Bob Taft who appointed her to lead the Ohio Department of Public Safety overseeing Ohio’s emergency preparedness following 9/11. She was also the liaison to the US Department of Homeland Security.

She closes the ad speaking directly to her fellow citizens: “Justice is blind, but we aren’t. Issue 1 brings accountability by banning politicians from drawing voting maps and restores power where it belongs with citizens. Vote Yes on Issue 1.”

The ad is part of a final push to Election Day on Nov. 5 as early voting is already underway. Hundreds of volunteers in the grassroots nonpartisan coalition Citizens Not Politicians are knocking on doors in neighborhoods in all 88 counties and meeting voters outside the polling places to urge their neighbors to vote Yes on 1 to end gerrymandering in Ohio.

“With politicians lying about the amendment and Secretary of State Frank LaRose even abusing the power of his office to rig the ballot language, our campaign volunteers are reinforcing that Yes on 1 ends gerrymandering,” O’Connor said in a statement. “After we pass Issue 1, the legally binding language of the amendment, explicitly states that partisan gerrymandering will be permanently banned in Ohio.”

Contrary to the ballot language, the amendment itself states in Section 6[B]) it will “ban partisan gerrymandering and prohibit the use of redistricting plans that favor one political party and disfavor others.”

More than a half million Ohio Republicans, Democrats and Independents from all 88 counties signed petitions to put the amendment on the ballot. It will put an end to gerrymandering in Ohio by removing politicians and lobbyists from the map-drawing process. Instead, an open and transparent process led by Ohio citizens will take the reins, ensuring that district lines are drawn fairly and impartially.

Under the current system, backroom deals allow politicians and lobbyists to manipulate voting districts for personal and party gain, a practice Issue 1 will end once and for all. Ohio is one of the 10 most gerrymandered states in the country.

The new ad is just the latest in a series of spots from the nonpartisan grassroots coalition:

• On Oct. 14, the Yes on Issue 1 campaign launched an ad that asked the simple question: “If there are so many of us and so few of them, why do they have all the power?” Answer: “It’s because politicians and lobbyists put their fingers on the scale by rigging voting districts giving more power to the rich and elite that fund their campaigns.” That ad is available here. 
• On Oct. 7, the campaign launched an ad featuring an Ohio veteran drawing on his military service to highlight the importance of protecting democracy and ensuring that citizens—not politicians—are in control of drawing Ohio’s voting district maps. That ad is available here.
• Sept. 25, to counter lies from the politicians designed to divide the Black community, some of the most prominent civil rights leaders in Ohio issued statements of support and appeared in a new ad calling on all Ohioans to vote yes on Issue 1 to end gerrymandering. That ad is available here.
• Sept. 24, the citizens coalition launched a $20 million broadcast blitz with a TV advertisement speaking directly to the Buckeye State’s diverse citizenry, underscoring that conservative, progressive and independent Ohioans all agree on one thing: Yes on 1 will end gerrymandering by firing the politicians. That ad is available here.
• Sept. 17 they appealed to Ohio State football fans as the season kicked off with a statewide digital ad showing how LaRose and his politician comrades have as much integrity as the cheating former head coach of the University of Michigan football team. The Jim Harbaugh ad is available here. 

More than 100 organizations, businesses, and thought leaders across Ohio champion the constitutional amendment. The diverse coalition supporting the historic initiative includes Republicans, Independents and Democrats and is made up of business groups, nonpartisan policy groups, labor unions, civil rights organizations, and faith-based organizations representing hundreds of thousands of Ohioans across the political spectrum.

A bipartisan group of more than 90 business leaders has also released an open letter endorsing the amendment.    

Gerrymandering, the practice of drawing political boundaries to favor a particular party or group, undermines fair representation and effective policy. Ohio is recognized as one of the worst states for gerrymandering, affecting the lives of millions of Ohioans.

The Citizens Not Politicians Amendment will:

• Create the 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission composed of Republican, Democratic, and independent citizens representing the state’s diverse geography and demographics.
• Ban current or former politicians, political party officials, and lobbyists from serving on the commission.
• Require the creation of fair and impartial districts, prohibiting any drawing of voting districts that discriminate against or favor any political party or individual politician.
• Operate under an open and independent process.

For more information about the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment, visit www.citizensnotpoliticians.org.

Read the Issue 1 Fact Check Guide before publishing or posting a statement from any politician opposing Issue 1.  

###