Issue 1 fails big in Ohio despite massive money advantage
Voters rejected Ohio Issue 1 Tuesday, choosing to stick with the status quo instead of setting up a new citizen commission to draw congressional and state legislative districts.
Ohio will continue to use its current redistricting method led by state lawmakers and a commission of seven elected officials. The state will keep its current state legislative maps through 2030 but the congressional map, approved without Democratic support, will be redrawn next year for the 2026 election.
The measure was failing, 46% to 54%, when the Associated Press called the race at about 11:20 p.m. Tuesday.
Opponents of Ohio Issue 1 were heavily outspent, but they convinced voters that the 26-page constitutional amendment was too confusing and too flawed to pass. Tuesday’s Issue 1 results mirrored former President Donald Trump’s victory in Ohio.
"Despite Democrats’ best efforts to deceive Ohioans into changing our constitution and rigging elections in their favor, the truth has carried the day," said former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Paduchik, who led opposition to Issue 1.
But retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, who crafted the constitutional amendment, said many voters were duped by Republican-crafted ballot language.
“In analyzing the vote tonight, it is clear that millions of Ohioans who voted ‘yes’ want to end gerrymandering," said O'Connor, a former Republican officeholder. "And it is also clear that those who voted ‘no’ thought that they were voting to end gerrymandering.”
Trump, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and fellow Republicans united against the plan to create a 15-member citizen commission. And Trump’s success in Ohio helped to defeat the redistricting reform measure.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and fellow Republicans approved ballot language said Ohio Issue 1 would require gerrymandering, a concept that most Ohioans oppose. GOP justices on the Ohio Supreme Court largely upheld that ballot language despite opposition from their Democratic colleagues.
"We were dead in the water in July," Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said. "Gov. Mike DeWine turned this thing around. He put a stake in the sand and said this is not going to happen in the state of Ohio."
Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, praised Trump's support as well and said Issue 1’s likely defeat was proof that Ohio’s constitution is not for sale. He is expected to lead the Ohio Senate next year.
Ohio Issue 1 was a reaction to how Republicans drew maps in 2021 and 2022, ignoring public comment and deadlines to approve districts at the 11th hour. A divided Ohio Supreme Court rejected these maps seven times as unconstitutional gerrymandering.
Lawsuits and new leadership on the Ohio Supreme Court led to Ohio’s current maps.
In response, former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor wrote a constitutional amendment to create a citizens’ redistricting commission. O’Connor, a Republican and the deciding vote on seven redistricting decisions, left the court because of age limits. Redistricting reform became her retirement project.
DeWine has said Ohio’s current redistricting system doesn’t work. He promised to work with Ohio lawmakers to propose an alternative if Issue 1 was defeated. But it’s not yet clear what that alternative would look like and if Ohio’s GOP-controlled Legislature would send it to voters to decide.
Much of Citizens Not Politicians’ fundraising came from out-of-state, progressive dark money groups and unions, which typically back Democrats. Opponents received money from GOP donors like Columbus Crew and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and the campaigns of congressmen like Rep. Jim Jordan.
"Issue 1 has hardly been a citizen-led initiative,” Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou said. “It's $30 million-plus dollars in out-of-state, special interest money."
Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said they won't stop fighting against gerrymandering despite their defeat Tuesday. "Fair districts and fair representation is a right."
Read the proposed amendment here:
This story will be updated
Jessie Balmert covers state government and politics for the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.