What are the arguments for and against Issue 1?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ohioans are just over three weeks away from the start of early voting, and there is one statewide issue to keep in mind: Issue 1.

Issue 1 wants to create an independent redistricting commission of 15 Ohio citizens, rather than the current commission made up of seven politicians, as was adopted by voters in 2015.

“The politicians have been cheating in Ohio for decades,” Citizens not Politicians spokesperson Chris Davey said. “That's the Democrats and the Republicans.”

“70% of Ohioans adopted the current process that resulted in unanimous, unanimous in Ohio, unanimous bipartisan maps,” spokesperson for Ohio Works, the group behind the opposition, Matt Dole said. “That's a remarkable achievement. And now they're saying, ‘Nope, that didn't work, we want to go change it.’”

“They should talk to Governor Mike DeWine, who on multiple occasions has said this system did not work. They should talk to the Ohio Supreme Court that seven times ruled that the maps they drew were unconstitutional,” Davey said. “So, there's widespread perception and understanding that this system doesn't work at all.”

The most recent maps adopted by the Ohio Redistricting Commission make it likely that Democrats would up 37% of the Ohio House and 30% of the Ohio Senate. Democrats typically receive about 40% of the vote in statewide races. Dole said he is concerned that those percentages will the guiding star of this commission.  

“They're going to have to make districts look weird, have wavy lines to create the districts they want,” Dole said. “The notion of creating weird districts with weird lines where counties aren't together and neighborhoods are split up -- Issue 1 will gerrymander more than what we have now.”

“We don't pay attention at all to the House and the Senate and how many Republicans are or how many Democrats there are. What we care about is a fair and transparent process,” Davey said. “We know that this process will lead to more competitive districts, that will lead to better maps, that will better serve Ohio.”

Another question is about accountability and whether Ohioans will have recourse if they do not like the actions of the proposed commission.  

“Unelected bureaucrats, right, which is what a citizens commission becomes,” Dole said. “[Elected officials] are directly accountable to voters. They have to face the voters every two or four years. And so, the accountability is built in. If they draw maps that the voters don't like or think are unfair, the voters can have a say.”

The process to put citizens on the commission starts with elected officials on the Ohio Ballot Board selecting retired judges who then select citizen commissions. Davey said that lends itself to still being able to hold the officials involved accountable. Plus, he said, there is “extreme” transparency.

“Under this system, these citizens commissioners would be accountable to the public. They would be required to hold public hearings all over the state," Davey said. "These hearings would be televised. Everything would be a public record. So, there is accountability throughout this entire process."

Davey said the current system does not have proper transparency and the politicians on the commission, who have a vested interest in district lines to keep their jobs, should not be involved.

“Democrats and Republicans, politicians, they love gerrymandering because that way they can go from the House to the Senate and back to the House and grow old in office without solving problems for Ohioans and moving our state forward,” Davey said.

“I understand frustration with politicians. But again, they are accountable. Politicians are accountable. And the way the commission will be made up under this ballot measure, it would remove accountability,” Dole said.

But Dole said beyond that, he has other issues with the amendment, like the line that says "to ban partisan gerrymandering.."

“Who gets to decide what (gerrymandering) means? It's completely subjective," Dole said. "That's a major problem when you're putting subjective language into the Ohio Constitution."

“Attorney General Dave Yost approved language that summarizes this amendment that clearly defines what gerrymandering is and clearly talks about how we're going to fix it,” Davey said.

Despite disagreements about this amendment, both Davey and Dole agree that it is important for Ohioans to pay attention.

“The mapmaking process is in the weeds, but it matters. It matters to who is going to represent you,” Dole said. “The process matters and the details of that process matter. And I think issue one will make things worse in the long run.”

“People are fed up,” Davey said. “The politicians are the problem. And if we put citizens, not politicians, in charge of drawing legislative maps, we will have better elections and we will have better representation for all Ohioans. A ‘yes’ on issue 1 is a yes to empower citizens and put politicians on the sidelines.”

The language voters will see at the polls in November is still being argued in the Ohio Supreme Court.