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Columbus
Dispatch
Process of
drawing legislative and congressional maps may change
By Jim Siegel
November 12, 2012
Issue 2 is dead, buried deep by Ohio voters last week.
But over and over again, opponents of the redistricting plan, be they
Republicans or editorial-page writers, noted that their opposition was
not based on the belief that the current system of drawing legislative
and congressional districts is good.
In fact, most acknowledged that it remains badly in need of an overhaul.
Among them is Secretary of State Jon Husted, who for years as a state
legislator and now as the state’s chief elections official has pushed
to change the process, in which the majority party gerrymanders
districts to its benefit, often creating a host of uncompetitive seats.
Husted strongly opposed Issue 2 as a flawed alternative, but he argues
that something must be done.
“It is an outdated process that is leading to a toxic political
environment, because everybody is so partisan,” Husted said. “And it’s
not because they’re bad people. It’s because the way the districts are
drawn. If all I have to do is win a primary, I behave differently in
office.”
Republicans now control 75 percent of the U.S. House seats and nearly
two-thirds of the legislative seats in a state that has leaned
Republican but is a key battleground state, having voted for the
Democratic presidential nominee in 2008 and this year, and re-elected a
liberal U.S. senator this year. Exit polls showed that 38 percent of
voters in the fall election were Democrats, 31 percent were Republicans
and 31 percent were independents.
Voters First Ohio, the coalition that pushed Issue 2, noted that in 131
of 133 Ohio campaigns — all 16 U.S. House races, all 18 state Senate
races, and 97 of 99 state House contests — the winners were from the
party that the district map favored.Redistricting is not a new problem:
Proposals to change the way Ohio draws boundaries have been discussed
for at least three decades. But the system remains unchanged for a
variety of reasons, including a lack of political pressure because the
issue doesn’t resonate strongly with voters; the party in power (or the
one that thinks it’s going to grab power) doesn’t want to relinquish
control; and disagreements over details.
Without bipartisan buy-in, ballot issues in 2005 and on Tuesday that
attempted to change the process were crushed by voters.
“I think the failure of Issue 2 makes it very difficult to get anything
done in the short term,” Husted said.
Read the rest of the article at Columbus Dispatch
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