July Meeting - Redistricting Reform: Here We Go Again What's different? What's the same? And why should I care?

Catherine Turcer, Common Cause
Friends Auditorium, UA Public Library
2800 Tremont
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
6:30 gathering, program at 7:00 pm

Redistricting reform was on the ballot in 1981, in 2005 and in 2012.  We can all agree that legislative districts shouldn't be rigged to favor the political party in power and that manipulation of district lines manipulates the vote.  But can we actually change this winner-take-all system?  Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio's policy analyst, will take a look back at reform efforts of the past and walk us through a discussion of Issue 1, the redistricting reform measure on this November's ballot.

Catherine Turcer has been working on redistricting reform since the late 1990s and was the chair of the 2012 Voters First redistricting reform effort.  She co-authored Reforming Ohio's Democracy and Democratic Renewal: A Call from the Heartland.  Catherine helped coordinate the 2009 and 2011 Ohio Redistricting Competition which gave the public the tools to draw district lines and better understand gerrymandering.