Gov. DeWine: I Don’t Think the Legislature Should be Involved in Redistricting
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is considering supporting redistricting reform to combat gerrymandering. Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau sat down for a one-on-one with the governor to discuss what needs to happen to fix what is a broken system.
DeWine told reporter Morgan Trau that he wished he wasn’t involved in the map-making process. "It just didn’t work. It was a mess. We need to change that and we need to have something that actually works. I don’t think the legislature should be involved in redistricting. I don’t think the governor should be involved. I would be very happy not to be involved in that in the future."
Former Republican Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, who ruled the maps produced in 2022 as unconstitutional on several cases brought before the court, is leading the effort to change how Ohio draws its legislative maps. O’Connor, Citizens Not Politicians (CNP), the Ohio AFL-CIO and other nonpartisan groups of voting rights advocates have started collecting signatures needed to put a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 2024 ballot. It would create a 15-member citizens redistricting commission made up of five Republicans, five Democrats and five independent Ohioans with no political ties.
"The last 12 years of extreme gerrymandering has proven the real issues facing working people in Ohio are being ignored," said Ohio AFL-CIO President Tim Burga on why union members are joining the signature collection phase of the CNP campaign. "This isn't a partisan issue, as former Chief Justice O'Connor points out, it's a good government issue. It's past time we stop allowing any politician to pick their voters. It's time citizens have the authority to draw fair maps that will lead to better state and federal policy."