When driving through the Valley, you may notice campaign signs for Issue One. Although signs for and against the issue both say stop gerrymandering, a yes or no vote do not mean the same thing.

Issue One will determine who controls legislative districts. In other words, should that power remain with politicians or should it be decided by a board of citizens?

Most people in Ohio are not in favor of gerrymandering. In fact, 74% of Ohio is in favor of ending the practice. Although that's the case, the way gerrymandering is defined is different on both sides of the campaign.

Gerrymandering means drawing maps to create an unfair advantage. The "YES" campaign defines that advantage as favoring one party over the other. But the "NO" campaign defines it as maps that give an advantage to both Republicans and Democrats, not third parties.

So a Yes vote would eliminate the Ohio Redistricting Commission, which is made up of politicians.

The Commission comprises of the following members:

  • An individual appointed by the Senate President
  • An individual appointed by the Speaker of the House
  • An individual appointed by the Senate Minority Leader
  • An individual appointed by the House Minority Leader
  • The Governor
  • The Auditor
  • The Secretary of State

Instead, the commission would be replaced by the Citizens Redistricting Commission, which is made up of Republicans, Democrats and independents, five each. Politicians and lobbyists would NOT be eligible.

Voting 'no' keeps the process unchanged, meaning the power stays with the Ohio Redistricting Commission members.

Opponents of Issue One include Frank LaRose and Jon Husted.  But the issue does not cut along party lines. Former Republican Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor is one of the architects of Issue One.

"Let me set the record straight, issue 1 bans politicians from drawing voting maps. It will restore power to where it belongs, with citizens not politicians," said O'Connor.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, who has previously argued politicians shouldn't draw the maps, now says he's against Issue One.

"There needs to be some compactness to districts. They shouldn't be strung out all over the place. And that's what we're going to end up with if Issue 1 passes," said DeWine. "Every single district will have to favor republicans, or it will have to be drawn to be favored by democrats. That’s not what we should have. What I favor is having districts drawn just on population."