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Issue 1 (Redistricting Reform)

Finally Killing the Gerrymander? How Ohio’s New Redistricting Rules Work

In 2015 and 2018, more than 70% of Ohioans amended Ohio’s Constitution to reform the rules used to create state and Congressional districts. Next year, after the Census, we will finally implement these rules to draw the districts which will be used for the next 10 years! Join UAPA for a presentation on how the new rules will work and what we need to do to ensure that districts are fairly drawn.

Presenters:

Professor Richard Gunther, who was involved in the negotiations that led to the Ohio reforms

Primary Election Day Is HERE! Vote on May 8th!

Every  Vote Counts buttonPrimary day is Tuesday, May 8th.

Make your voice heard! Issue 1 sign

Issue 1 Yard Signs are GONE.

Thanks to all for your orders for Issue 1 yard signs. We are no longer distributing them through UAPA, but you still may be able to snag one from the Fair Districts/Common Cause office (35 E Gay St., Rm 404).

And thanks for supporting Issue 1! Make sure you get everyone you know to the polls on May 8th to ensure its passage.

Show Your Support for Issue 1

Yes on Issue 1 yard signGet your Issue 1 sign delivered this week. Show your support for "killing the gerrymander" in Ohio. Signs are FREE. Order NOW!

Story Archive - 2015

Stories that took place during 2015, including UA Council races (Carolyn Casper won a seat!) and redistricting reform for state legislators (Issue 1 passed) and an abortive attempt to pass marijuana legalization (Issue 3).

ISSUE 1–Redistricting reform is a great idea whose time has arrived

The Executive Committee of UAPA has unanimously agreed to endorse Issue 1.  Issue 1 has been endorsed by the Ohio Republican Party, ACLU, ProgressOhio, Ohio Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, and many others. The ballot language has been approved and it will appear on the ballot in Ohio in the November 2015 election.

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

Petition Drives

Petition drives/direct democracy are being used increasingly in Ohio to change the Constitution and pass or repeal laws. If you need more information to decide whether to sign a petition or to help a petition drive, check out this area. 

Issue 5 (2008) was an referendum to support a recently passed law that restricted the rates that could be charged by payday lenders in Ohio. It passed by 63.6% to 36.4% See this page for more information about other issues on the 2008 Ohio ballot.

Ohio 2012 ballot measures (Ballotpedia.org)

2023 was a important year for petition drives. In the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision, a 6-week abortion ban enacted by Ohio's Republican legislature went into effect and was stayed by a court a few weeks later. But, while in effect there was the 10-year-old rape victim who was forced to go to Indiana in order to get an abortion. Predictable callousness by Republican officials galvanized a doctor-led petition drive to enshrine protections for reproductive rights into the Ohio Constitution. This effort succeeded (despite misleading ballot language) and Issue 1 was passed by a 13 point margin in the November 2023 general election.

This success was especially notable in light of an effort by the Ohio legislature and office holders to restrict the ability of Ohioans to initiate and pass constitutional amendments through the petition process. This change to the Ohio Constitution was put forth in an August 2023 Special Election (suspicious, since they had just done away with most August elections). This effort (also Issue 1) failed.

There was also a petition drive to legalize marijuana use through statute on the 2023 November ballot as Issue 2 which passed by a wide margin.

Looking forward to 2024, a new petition drive to reform the process of drawing the dictrict maps that are used to elect representatives will begin. In 2015 and 2018, there were petition drives to place what were hoped to be the answer to gerrymandering in Ohio. Both reforms passed with votes in excess of 71%. However, the reforms were developed in conjunction with the legislature and then they chose to not even follow the rules they had helped to create as well as ignoring the Supreme Court of Ohio when they tried to enforce the Constitiution.

The 2024 effort will center around removing political actors from the process of drawing district lines entirely. The organization heading this effort is Citizens Not Politicians. Pease consider donating, volunteering, and signing the petition when you see one.

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