The amendment campaign now is one step away from working to collect the roughly 413,000 valid signatures it must submit before next July to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A campaign pushing to overhaul Ohio’s system of drawing political maps has cleared an initial legal hurdle, after Attorney General Dave Yost gave his OK on Monday to language that will appear on the petitions that the group must circulate to qualify for the ballot., Yost said the summary submitted by Citizens Not Politicians fairly and truthfully describes what the group’s proposed amendment to the state constitution would do if voters approve it.
A finding that the proposal contains multiple amendments would be a major setback, since that would mean the group would have to collect 413,000 signatures for each amendment. In a video conference with supporters last Thursday, officials with Citizens Not Politicians said they tried to carefully write their proposal to avoid trouble with the Ballot Board, but were prepared to defend the measure legally if needed.
In addition to removing current politicians from the redistricting process, former politicians, political party officials and lobbyists would also be barred from sitting on the commission. The proposal would require fair and impartial districts by making it unconstitutional to draw voting districts that discriminate against or favor any political party or politician. It would also require the commission to operate under an open and independent process.
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