The once and future Ohio redistricting reform
On the road with Noah Bardash.
This summer at the Electoral Innovation Lab, we have some exciting projects. Our overall goal is to build a science of democracy reform. This can take many forms, including areas of longstanding expertise (redistricting) and areas for expansion (voting rules); identifying the best reform(s) in specific states and localities; and putting the tools of science into the hands of practical reformers.
Over the coming weeks I’ll occasionally turn the Substack over for an EIL team member to show what they’re working on. They each have their own perspectives.
Today, I hand the reins over to Noah Bardash. Noah is an M.P.A. student here at Princeton, in the School of Policy and International Affairs. He’s been crisscrossing Ohio. I’ll let him tell you why. -Sam
Greetings from Columbus, Ohio!
As a summer fellow with the Electoral Innovation Lab, I have spent the past five weeks in Ohio, studying the landscape of redistricting reform here and analyzing potential paths forward. I’ve traveled around the state to meet with academics, advocates, lawmakers, and lobbyists to inform our team’s perspectives.
Ohio has received significant attention in the democracy space in recent years. Redistricting reform in Ohio started on a promising note this time around, with the creation of the Ohio Redistricting Commission. But then the process devolved into a partisan outcome. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled the commission’s maps unconstitutional, but after several back-and-forths, the commission failed to comply with the high court’s instructions, and these gerrymandered maps persisted. One of my goals was to find out why - and to identify a path forward.
In Ohio, Republicans currently wield control both chambers and the governorship. Like many states across the nation, single-party control, whether by Republicans or Democrats, has let legislators put politics ahead of clean government to maintain themselves in power. As many have reminded me in recent weeks, those who hold power do not often cede it easily. In the case of Ohio, the state constitution allowed the redistricting commission to be controlled by one party, and expressly forbade the state Supreme Court from drawing a map to replace the gerrymander. For these reasons, many reformers are adamant that politicians must be removed from the redistricting process. I wanted to understand how that could be done effectively and fairly, both in Ohio and around the country.
The issue of clean democracy does not elicit the same headlines or visceral reactions as abortion, guns, or climate change. But unfair mapmaking processes close off the biggest avenue to enacting policy in any of these areas. A balanced approach to representing the people is an essential first step in translating popular will into real change.
I’ve encountered a broad appetite for limiting the ability of legislators to draw their own districts. But in the wake of last decade’s disappointments, key questions emerge. What would an independent mapmaking commission look like? Who would choose these people? By what criteria would they be chosen? Can there be a process that reflects the needs of all Ohioans? Back in Princeton, we’re very interested in the experiences and outcomes in other states like Michigan and Colorado that have enacted independent commissions. My fellow SPIA students have examined the special role played by commissions, and that’s a potential model for future reform that closes loopholes.
Like about half of our fifty states, Ohio has a process for voters to modify the constitution directly. This year, people are exercised about Issue 1, which comes up next month, in a special August election. If it passes, passing a constitutional amendment would get harder. That would affect an abortion measure in November - and any future attempt to repair the broken redistricting process. Which brings me back to the broken commission process. A ballot initiative next year could close loopholes - and one of my tasks this trip has been to find out more about those loopholes, in person.
As I drove around the state, I loved learning about the Ohio story in Episode 784 of This American Life, where Ira Glass walked through the ups and downs of the most recent redistricting cycle. He was excellent company.
When I wasn’t interviewing people, I had the chance to visit Lake Erie up in Cleveland, explore The Ohio State University’s massive and beautiful campus, eat some delicious Somali food, and experience a Columbus tradition - the Doo Dah Parade.
While I’ll miss this state, I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the rest of the EIL team back in New Jersey, and continuing to learn from Ohioans who have been involved in reform - and working toward a more perfect mapmaking process.
Thank you for tuning in!
Sam, I'm happy to talk to Noah more about the Ohio redistricting adventure and give him more people to connect with. Have him email me to get started.
It might be useful to study the process in New York and the current attempts to thwart the anti-gerrymandering amendment here. One weakness we are seeing (as we all see at the federal level) is that if the courts have the power to override the law, then the court becomes the battleground - and that is probably not the best place to have such battles ...