by: Caroline Polen

Ohio Issue 1, also known as the Citizens Not Politicians Amendment, is a proposal that is aimed at addressing gerrymandering, which is when districts are drawn by politicians to preserve their power with the intention of influencing elections to their advantage. 

The goal of this issue is to create a more fair and transparent process for drawing electoral district boundaries, making sure that districts are more representative of the population. This would usually involve establishing an independent commission or setting clear criteria that limits the manipulation of districts for political gain from either side.

A “yes” vote on Ohio Issue 1 would support the establishment of the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC). A 15-member non-politician commission is responsible for adopting state legislative and congressional redistricting plans. But, a “no” vote would oppose the CRC, which would keep the Ohio Redistricting Commission, a political-affiliated commission.

“Both parties have benefited. The idea is we want to have competitive districts,” government teacher at Bellbrook High School, Perry Caldwell, said. “We don’t want districts that are all one party and none of another party. We want it to be competitive, and if Issue 1 would do that for us, that would be great.”