Blatant abuse of power violates Ohio law, Constitution  

Columbus, OH  — After the Ohio Ballot Board today adopted illegal and inaccurate language designed to mislead Ohio voters about Issue 1, the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment to end gerrymandering, the nonpartisan coalition supporting the amendment announced it will immediately file suit in the Ohio Supreme Court next week to have the language changed.

“It’s one grotesque abuse of power after another from politicians desperate to protect the current system that only benefits themselves and their lobbyist friends,” said retired Republican Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who helped draft Issue 1. “Do the politicians not see how angry voters are when they keep breaking the law to protect their own power? Secretary of State Frank LaRose voted seven times for maps that courts ruled were unconstitutional, and this week he violates the Constitution with objectively false ballot language. It’s a desperate abuse of power, and it’s not going to work.”

“This is just another example of why we need to get politicians out of redistricting,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. “They ignore the law over and over, insult voters, and do anything they can to protect themselves and their cronies.”

“I’ve never seen ballot language this dishonest and so blatantly illegal,” said attorney Don McTigue, who presented the coalition’s proposed language before the board. “Ohio’s constitution and Ohio state law explicitly require the Secretary of State and Ballot Board to provide voters with accurate and fair language about constitutional amendments when they vote. It’s insulting to voters, and I’m embarrassed for the Secretary of State.”  

McTigue said the group will seek an expedited ruling from the Ohio Supreme Court directing the Ballot Board to fulfill its legal duty to adopt ballot language for Issue 1 that is true, impartial and compliant with all requirements of the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Constitution.      

Citizens Not Politicians had proposed language that was crafted to clearly and accurately reflect the substance of the proposed amendment and designed to meet the standards required by Ohio law, including providing a “true and impartial statement” of the measure as required by Ohio Revised Code § 3519.21. The ballot language proposed by Citizens Not Politicians and disregarded by the Ballot Board can be found here. 

But by a vote of 3-2, the Ballot Board adopted language that news reports had labeled “loaded” and that no objective and reasonable person could conclude is true and impartial.

Specifically, the ballot title adopted by the board violates the requirement of Ohio Rev. Code § 3519.21, that “the ballot title shall not be likely to create prejudice for or against the measure.” 

In addition, the ballot language is riddled with distortions and inaccuracies. There are countless lies and distortions in the LaRose ballot language. Here are just four examples of what the amendment actually does and how the LaRose language misrepresents the amendment:

• Issue 1 prohibits redistricting plans that favor a political party. Bullet 2 of the ballot summary provided by the LaRose proposal lies about the explicit prohibitions on partisan gerrymanders in Issue 1. 
• Issue 1 requires the Commission to hold hearings “in a manner that invites broad public participation throughout the state.” Bullet 8 of the LaRose proposal lies about what’s in Issue 1 regarding transparency and public participation. 
• Issue 1 prohibits politicians and lobbyists from attempting backroom deals to keep themselves in power. Bullet 8 of the ballot summary provided by theLaRose proposal lies about the explicit mandate to facilitate and honor public input in Issue 1. 
• Issue 1 provides that the Ohio Supreme Court will hear challenges about one particular kind of redistricting challenge, but does nothing to strip any court of jurisdiction. Bullet 5 of the ballot summary provided by theLaRose proposal lies about what’s in Issue 1 regarding legal challenges to future legislative maps. 

Article II, Section 1g of the Ohio Constitution provides that the ballot language for constitutional initiatives and statutory initiatives “shall be prescribed by the Ohio ballot board in the same manner, and subject to the same terms and conditions, as apply to issues submitted by the general assembly pursuant to Section 1 of Article XVI of this constitution.” And Article XVI, Section 1 of the Ohio Constitution provides that the ballot language for “proposed amendments shall be prescribed by a majority of the Ohio ballot board.” It further provides that the ballot language “shall properly identify the substance of the proposal to be voted upon,” but that the ballot “need not contain the full text nor a condensed text of the proposal.” Ballot language will be held invalid if it “mislead[s], deceive[s], or defraud[s] the voters.”

LaRose certified the amendment for the Nov. 5 ballot on July 23, determining that the group had gathered a total of 535,005 valid signatures, with support coming from every county in Ohio from Republican, Democrat, and Independent voters . The amendment needed 413,487 valid signatures of registered voters and signatures from at least 5% of voters in 44 counties, and the campaign exceeded this requirement by achieving the threshold in a record 58 counties.

When passed, the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment will establish an independent redistricting commission, free from current or former politicians and lobbyists. The initiative will create a fair, transparent, and impartial redistricting process that genuinely reflects the will of Ohio’s citizens.

In June, the group announced the support of nearly 100 organizations, businesses, and thought leaders across Ohio for 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 85 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, visit www.citizensnotpoliticians.org.

About Citizens Not Politicians
Citizens Not Politicians is a grassroots, nonpartisan coalition of Republican, Democrat and Independent Ohio voters and includes nearly 100 organizations, businesses, and thought leaders across Ohio supporting a constitutional amendment that will end gerrymandering in the state.