Nonpartisan Group Files Merit Brief and Evidence in Ballot Board Lawsuit

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This Court has never hesitated to strictly enforce the legal requirements for the text that appears on the ballot.”

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Today, the nonpartisan Citizens Not Politicians coalition filed its merit brief and evidence with the Ohio Supreme Court, challenging the Ohio Ballot Board’s misleading and biased language for Issue 1, the proposed constitutional amendment to end gerrymandering in Ohio. The filing emphasizes the critical need for the Court to intervene and ensure that Ohio voters receive a fair and accurate description of the amendment on the Nov. 5 ballot.

“This Court has never hesitated to strictly enforce the legal requirements for the text that appears on the ballot,” the brief asserts. “The Ballot Board’s prescribed ballot language is contrary to the Constitution and laws of the State of Ohio. Rather than properly identifying the substance of the proposal, it misleads and deceives the voters, and it attempts to persuade them to vote against the Amendment.”

The illegal language was written by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and was passed on Aug. 16 by the Ballot Board on a 3-2 vote with LaRose casting the tie-breaking vote.

The coalition’s filing highlights numerous flaws in the Ballot Board’s language, including the false claim that the amendment would do the opposite of what the plain language of the amendment states. “[T]he amendment would in fact ‘ban partisan gerrymandering and redistricting plans that favor or disfavor a political party.’”

Moreover, the brief points out that the adopted ballot language deliberately mischaracterizes the amendment’s impact on public participation. “The amendment explicitly requires that ‘all deliberations and actions of the commission shall be in public meetings’ and guarantees that ‘the commission shall conduct its hearings in a manner that invites broad public participation throughout the state.’” The Ballot Board language drafted by LaRose essentially states the opposite.

Citizens Not Politicians is seeking a writ of mandamus from the Ohio Supreme Court to compel the Ballot Board to reconvene and adopt ballot language that accurately reflects the amendment’s purpose and content, as required by the Ohio Constitution. The coalition is also challenging the biased title language introduced by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, which inaccurately describes the amendment.

“The stakes of placing [the Ballot Board’s] obviously distorted language and title on the ballot are high,” the brief concludes. It would “be akin to giving Ohio’s elected officials carte blanche to manipulate election outcomes—not just for this amendment, but for all citizen initiatives.”

The merit brief and supporting evidence filed today underscore the importance of impartiality in the electoral process.

For more information about the lawsuit and to follow the case on the Ohio Supreme Court docket, visit this link.

Across the state, LaRose and the Ballot Board have been universally condemned for the plainly biased and false language. Among the many headlines: 

The amendment was certified for the Nov. 5 ballot on July 23, when officials determined 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.

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.

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