Ohio is home to some of the most extreme Republican gerrymandering in the country, so it may come as a surprise that the GOP-dominated legislature overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment that would make the state’s congressional redistricting process more bipartisan. This measure had wide support from both parties, as well as the backing of nonpartisan reform groups. Consequently, it will almost certainly pass when it appears on the May 8 primary ballot. While it may seem astonishing that GOP legislators would willingly give limit their power, we take a far more cynical view as to their real motivations: This reform is intended to block more vigorous measures to end gerrymandering and create fairer maps, as we explain below.
Ohio currently lets the legislature draw a congressional map subject to gubernatorial veto. Republicans gained unified control over state government in 2010 and drew one of the most partisan gerrymanders in America. This map has given the GOP 12 of 16 seats in every election since its adoption, even in 2012 when Obama won the state 51-48. Reform advocates had been pushing for change for many years, and both the League of Women Voters and Common Cause had been backing a ballot initiative to create a bipartisan redistricting commission and had been gathering signatures for the November ballot. However, that effort will likely come to a halt now that reformers have accepted a compromise with legislators, but the devil is in the details.
The new amendment approved by the legislature would still leave legislators and party officials in charge of the process. However, for the legislature to pass a map, it would need 60 percent supermajority approval, including at least 50 percent of the members of the minority party. If the legislature can’t pass a map, it would go to the same bipartisan commission of officeholders that already handles legislative redistricting. That commission is made up of four legislators—two from each party—and the governor, secretary of state, and auditor. The panel would currently have a Republican majority thanks to the GOP’s hold on statewide offices, but at least two votes from the minority party would be required to pass a map.
However, if the commission can’t reach an agreement, the legislature gets another crack. The legislature would still need a 60 percent supermajority, but this time the share of votes required from the minority party would go down to just one third. But here’s the critical part: If all those convoluted steps still fail to produce a map, the legislature gets to pass a map with a simple majority and no minority-party veto, although the map would only be good for four years instead of the usual 10. And what happens after four years? They can do it all over again.