By Carrie Davis, League of Women Voters of Ohio

Many of us have been eagerly watching an important gerrymandering case out of Wisconsin, Gill v. Whitford.

Yesterday - On Monday, June 29 - the US Supreme Court announced that they would hear Gill during the new term beginning in October 2017.

What the Wisconsin gerrymandering case is all about:
This is an exciting case to watch for redistricting reformers. While the US Supreme Court has said that it’s possible for excessive partisan gerrymandering (drawing districts to strongly favor a political party) to cross the line and be unconstitutional, the high court has never set a legal standard defining where that line might be. That’s where Gill v. Whitford comes in.

The Campaign Legal Center, who brought the case, proposes a numeric formula for measuring political gerrymandering. They call it “the efficiency gap.”

According to this paper by the Brennan Center, “the efficiency gap counts the number of votes each party wastes in an election to determine whether either party enjoyed a systematic advantage in turning votes into seats. Any vote cast for a losing candidate is considered wasted, as are all the votes cast for a winning candidate in excess of the number needed to win.”

In other words, if a state is heavily gerrymandered to create “safe seats” that one party will win by a landslide, those “wasted votes” will have a higher efficiency gap score – and, according to the Gill plaintiffs, rise to the level of an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.

What this means for Ohio:
Ohio suffers from the same problem of having districts drawn to create safe seats that all but guarantee which party will win.

LWV Ohio’s 2015 report “Predictable Results II” documents how Ohio’s state and federal legislative districts overwhelmingly create predictable safe seats. (The forthcoming third edition of LWVO’s Predictable Results report, which incorporates 2016 election results, is being finalized and will be available soon.)

If the US Supreme Court decides to accept the Gill case’s invitation to establish a legal standard for what constitutes an excessive partisan gerrymander that unconstitutionally encroaches on voters’ rights to choose who represents them, that would prohibit any such future extreme partisan gerrymanders and could open the door to challenging existing maps in other states that also cross the line.

While Gill is an important case, it does not impact plans to pursue the Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio ballot proposal. Here’s why:
While Gill has the potential to strike a critical blow to partisan gerrymandering, that only impacts one part of needed reform to the redistricting process.

It does not address other aspects of gerrymandering that our ballot issue does:

• Who draws the map - The Fair Districts proposal requires maps to be drawn by a bipartisan commission and votes from both parties are required to approve a map.
• Not splitting communities – The Fair Districts proposal keeps communities whole by minimizing the ability to split up counties, municipalities and townships.
• Compactness – Ohio currently has Congressional districts that include a narrow line along Lake Erie (district 9), a multi-hour drive from Portsmouth almost to Youngstown (district 6), and numerous other oddly-shaped districts. The Fair Districts plan requires districts to be compact.
• Representational fairness – This means that the proportion of districts winnable by a party should mirror the proportion of votes that party receives. As opposed to our current map where one party has 75% of the seats and the other has 25% of the seats, even though statewide Ohio vote totals per party have been in the 50-50 to 60-40 range.
• Transparent process – The Fair Districts proposal will require the entire redistricting process to be transparent and accountable, so the public can see if the rules are truly being followed.

The bottom line:  Gill v. Whitford is an incredibly important case, and we sincerely hope the Court takes this opportunity to draw a line to prohibit extreme partisan gerrymandering. However, true redistricting reformers know more is needed. We need to the strengthen the whole process, and that is just what the Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio proposal will do.

So keep passing those petitions and collecting signatures! With any luck, the Court will strike a blow against gerrymandering next term and Ohio voters will do the same when they vote yes on our ballot issue!

Blog post by the Stone Snowfake
Orginally posted on the blog, The Snowflake Chronicles: The Adventures of an Imperfect Activist 

I did it! I collected signatures and I lived to tell! In this previous post, I described the Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio pre-petition plans. Well, they're here now. And I spent yesterday morning in front of my local library asking people to sign as they hustled by with kids and books tucked under their arms.

I'm not a shy person and I don't scare easily, but I don't mind telling you that I was really nervous. I hate asking people for things in real life. Even people I know well. (One of my least favorite parts of arts administration is seeking donors. Eesh.) And now I would be standing out there explaining a seriously complex issue to people who'd rather do something else. Anything else.

But now, here I was. Not only was I collecting signatures, but I had helped organize my Indivisible subgroup to do the same. I am now the proud owner of several earth-shaking spreadsheets detailing petition books, volunteer contact info, and daily assignments at local libraries. (Remember how I said ages ago that I didn't want to be a leader? Who am I? How did this happen?)

So, being an accidental leader of enthusiastic volunteers, I sorta had to go collect signatures. To me, this seemed like a bit of a sales job. And a bit theatre. So, I thought about my audience (I'm in a rural area) and I dressed the part... I donned my American flag rugby, my League of Women's Voters of Ohio pin (non-partisan and trusted) and packed my little kit.

A big thank you to all of the activists collecting signatures!  Together, we can improve representational democracy. 

By Carrie Davis, League of Women Voters of Ohio

Attention Fair Districts volunteers! Now that petitions are in the field around Ohio, we wanted to share a few reminders about critical rules for keeping your petitions legal:

• Make sure you pick up the petition instruction sheet when you pick up your petitions. It includes important Do’s and Do-Not’s. You can also review a webinar of the petition training online here and check out the FAQ sheet.
• Only registered voters can sign and must use the name and address that appears on their voter registration. If someone is not registered or they moved, they can submit a new or updated voter registration online or using a paper form.  If you register someone on paper, you will need to turn in the registration form to the Board of Elections within 10 days.  Registration online can be completed on a smartphone at myohiovote.com. Once someone completes a voter registration, they can sign your petition.
• Only use the pre-printed, bound petitions that you pick-up from designated locations. Do not print your own.
• Do not remove the staples or otherwise take apart your petition booklets. That can render them invalid.
• You can only have signatures from one county per booklet. If a petition booklet has signatures from multiple counties, they won’t count. It’s a good idea to carry extra blank booklets so you have them available for voters from other counties (each county gets its own booklet). 
• You cannot sign your own petition. That is because as a circulator you are witnessing each signature, and legally you cannot witness your own signature. Sign a friend’s instead.
• You cannot share petitions. Each circulator must have their own petition booklet.
• You must observe every signature. Do not leave petition booklets out for people to sign while you are not present.
• Before you turn in your petition booklet, remember to complete the statement of circulator on the back page.

​Looking for a petition pick-up location near you? Check our current listings and call ahead to confirm there are enough available, especially if you need a large quantity for an event. We are looking to expand our list of pick up locations, so if you are interested in serving as a pick up/drop off location, please let us know by completing this form.

Need a little bit more? Check out the online Petition Training on Demand. This training reviews the do's and don'ts of signature gathering. Sign up here to register and view the training at your convenience.

If you ever have questions, reach out to us - we’re here to help! 

Thank you for helping make Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio a reality!

Following the unanimous Ohio Ballot Board approval of the ballot initiative as one issue on May 30, the Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio Campaign Committee is officially beginning the signature collection drive this Thursday at the Ohio Statehouse.


The Bipartisan Congressional Redistricting Reform ballot proposal is modeled on 2015’s Issue 1, which won with overwhelming and bipartisan approval from voters, established the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission, and created for rules for the Ohio General Assembly maps.


Currently, the state legislature is responsible for drawing Congressional districts and bipartisan approval is not required. Ohio’s congressional districts are among the most nation’s most gerrymandered. The proposed reform would give mapmaking authority to the Ohio Redistricting Commission and would go into effect the next time Congressional district lines are redrawn following the 2020 census.


With a requirement of collecting 305,591 signatures of registered voters in order to appear on the ballot, the Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio Committee and redistricting reform advocates from all over Ohio will work quickly to ensure Ohioans have an opportunity to vote for fair congressional mapmaking and more accountable representation.
​

WHAT: Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio Campaign signature collection kickoff event at the Statehouse..
WHEN: Thursday, June 1, 2017 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: The Ohio Statehouse in the Ladies’ Gallery
SPEAKERS: Ann Henkener, League of Women Voters of Ohio, Heather Taylor-Miesle,Ohio Environmental Council and Sam Gresham, Common Cause Ohio

There is also a kickoff event in Dayton on June 1.

WHAT: Miami Valley Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio Campaign signature collection kickoff.
WHEN:  Thursday, June 1, 2017 at 2:00  p.m.
WHERE: The League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area, 131 North Ludlow Street, Dayton, OH 45402.  
SPEAKERS: Sue Hesselgesser, League of Women Voters of Greater Dayton Area, and Ellis Jacobs, attorney, Miami Valley Voter Protection Coalition

For more information about these events, please call Common Cause Ohio's Catherine Turcer at 614-579-5509.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 30, 2017

Columbus, OH -- The Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio campaign applauded today’s unanimous approval by the Ohio Ballot Board, allowing the campaign to begin collecting signatures. The Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio ballot proposal is modeled on Issue 1, the legislative plan that won overwhelming, bipartisan approval from voters in 2015.

“Following today’s ballot board approval, we’re quickly on our way to giving Ohio voters an opportunity to vote on fair congressional representation across the state,” said Carrie Davis of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. “The Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio campaign seeks to amend the Ohio constitution to give voters a choice and a voice in our Congressional elections.”

Catherine Turcer, of Common Cause Ohio, recalled that voters in 2015 overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment imposing fair district rules for redrawing state legislative districts.
 
“We want to see fair districts rules for Congress too. If it’s good for the Statehouse, it is good for Congress,” Turcer said.
 
Currently, the state legislature is responsible for drawing congressional districts and bipartisan approval is not required.  The proposed reform would go into effect the next time Congressional district lines are redrawn following the 2020 census.

“The Ballot Board approval puts us on pace to ensure Ohioans will have fair congressional districts and fair elections following the 2020 census,” said Heather Taylor-Miesle of the Ohio Environmental Council. “We’re eager to get to work collecting the required 305,591 signatures of Ohio voters in order to put congressional district reform on the ballot.”  

The Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio Ballot Committee comprises Carrie Davis of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, Catherine Turcer of Common Cause Ohio and Heather Taylor- Miesle of the Ohio Environmental Council.

For more information about the proposal and upcoming events and trainings, visit the Fair Districts = Fair Election Coalition’s website fairdistrictsohio.org.

Contact:  Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio, 614-579-5509 

###

Tips so that your book club can make the most out of reading Ratf**ked: 
1. Check out the Elephant in the Room for the inside story of how political consultants drew congressional and state legislative district lines in a hotel room 500 feet from the Ohio Statehouse in 2011.
2. Bring congressional map to the book club so that you can check out the crazy district lines.
3. Make sure that everyone has a chance to share and let them know that there are all sorts of ways to get involved so that we have fairer maps and fairer elections in 2021. 

By Marci Bird, Delaware Ohio 

I think it is safe to say that I was not the only one in shock in mid-November 2016. There were folks across the entire political spectrum that were more than a bit surprised that Donald Trump was our president-elect.
 
I really wanted to understand why and how our political system works.
 
I worked the polls in a very Republican area and the turnout was – to borrow a word from our new president—stupendous. It was evident to me before I left for the evening that I was seeing something that the pollsters had missed. I mean, where did all these voters come from? There were so many folks that had not voted in such a long while. Many needed a thorough explanation of the machine voting process and reassurances that their votes would, indeed, all be counted. It was really quite incredible.
 
Voting is democracy in action and the turnout was inspiring.
 
That being said, I am a “blue” and there were few “blues” on our ballot and lots of uncontested races. Few voters identified themselves as Democrats at the polls I manned that day. The turnout was overwhelmingly red. And the results reflected this.
 
This confused me.  We live in a swing state and this got me thinking…
 
Did few Democrats show up at these uncontested races? Or were there no Democrats on the ballot because no Democrats showed up to vote?
 
Was this outcome that extraordinary an event and if so, how did it evolve to the point where we had a complete outsider with a disdain for all things political as our president?
 
I mean, it didn’t seem that many of my “red” friends or family were that thrilled with the outcome either. Honestly. They expressed via social media and personal messages that they had voted “red” despite their misgivings because they had simply not felt listened to or taken seriously by the people in Washington for years. They were tired of working hard, sometimes at more than one job, with nothing to show for it, of not being able to find work in their own communities, of having to choose between clothes and a home for the kids, of losing health care coverage and pensions and of their own medication being taken off the table. They said they just wanted to try something new. Someone that was not part of the establishment.  Something different.  Maybe someone would listen and help bring back their dignity.
 
So my next question was why had no one been listening all along?
 
Isn’t it the job of our elected officials to help all of their constituents, not just the ones who voted for them? How could it be that so many people had suffered in silence— not because they did not speak out but because they were not being heard—for so long?  If the people that were supposed to be served by the system were this unhappy, there had to be a reason and likely a systemic problem.
 
I felt as if I had a responsibility to understand what had happened and why.  And I, a bookish introvert, did what bookish introverts do.  I looked for books. And I decided 
to start a book club. Still, I was not sure where to start.
 
Then, on November 17, 2016, I was driving down SR315 and I heard David Daley on All Sides with Ann Fisher on WOSU.  He was discussing the research that he had done to write his book Ratf**ked: The True Story Behind the Secret Plan to Steal America's Democracy. Daley explained that Republican consultants focused on winning state legislative races – and using “dark money” to get a leg up – in 2010 so that Republicans would be responsible for making legislative and congressional maps. 
 
Gerrymandering or the manipulation of district lines for partisan advantage is nearly as old as our country— and both parties engage in it--
but this REDMAP Project marginalized the Democratic Party in states like Ohio and insulated incumbents of both political parties.  

If the Democratic winners of Democratic leaning districts and Republican winners of Republican leaning districts only have to worry about the Primary Election or Primary voters or partisans, then they are not likely to listen to, or be accountable to the majority of the voters in their own districts. No wonder ordinary voters feel neglected. 
 
It’s easy to ignore voters if all you have to worry about is the Primary. So then voter, if you feel you have no voice, why would you show up to vote? Why have faith in the establishment? And, conversely, why not show up to vote in droves for the unknown outsider who promises he hears you and he will answer to you? This was my eureka moment. This made sense. The system was broken and we were all hurting for it.
 
As soon as I arrived at my destination that day, I pulled out my phone and ordered Ratf**ked. I finished reading it by the end of the week and I began to tell everyone about the book and how it had clarified to me that this current gerrymandered system hurt us all, not just Democrats but all voters. 
 
We deserve real elections. Mapmaking by the political party in power led to a lack of accountability and extremism in both parties. This led to a lack of compromise on policy proposals and without compromise and bipartisan support, common sense proposals do not become actual policy.  
 
I met Cheryl at the Ohio Electoral College official count day. We had sat next to each other by fortunate coincidence and started to talk about how we were feeling and what we personally needed to feel as if we could start to make a difference, which was an understanding of how we got here in the first place. I told her about Ratf**ked and asked her what she thought of the idea of a book club that read books and studied issues relevant to the current political situation in the US. She thought it was a great idea and she was in.
 
Next, I met a group of folks that were educating themselves on policy, civic engagement and activism. I mentioned my book club idea to them and some members were enthusiastic about the idea. Thus, Relevant Reading, the book club, was born. Our first selection was Ratf**ked.

Our discussion on the subject was interesting. I felt this most deeply when several
members of the group mentioned that the book made them feel hopeful. This book 
about how our voting rights were skillfully manipulated away from us, showed them 
that there was a problem with the system, not with the people governed by the 
system.
 
Fixing a system, making our representatives accountable for their actions and forcing them to listen to their constituents—all their constituents—was something we could actively work on. We could make a difference. We could volunteer for the Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition and work on the Bipartisan Congressional Redistricting Reform Initiative.
 
We could talk to people across the political spectrum about how this deliberately broken system has worked to disenfranchise us and to put hyper-partisanship above governance.
 
During our book club on April 20, we were able to take action:, we signed a petition to get congressional redistricting reform on the ballot. And then we selected our next book.
 
We were all grateful for the insight Mr. Daley provided us on how we got to where we are and how to move forward so that we can improve representational democracy.
 
I look forward to learning more with and from the ladies in Relevant Reading Book Club.