Ohio lawsuit seeks rewrite of redistricting ballot language dubbed ‘biased, inaccurate, deceptive’

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Ohio Supreme Court should step in on behalf of voters and order a rewrite of ballot language for a fall redistricting measure that “may be the most biased, inaccurate, deceptive, and unconstitutional” the state has ever seen, argues a lawsuit filed late Monday.

Citizens Not Politicians, the campaign advancing November’s Issue 1, and two individuals brought the promised litigation against the Ohio Ballot Board and Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, the state’s elections chief and the panel’s chair.

“This Court’s intervention is needed to ensure that Ohio voters are provided with the truthful and impartial ballot title and ballot language required by law so that they can exercise their right to determine for themselves whether to amend the Ohio Constitution,” the lawsuit says.

The proposed amendment, advanced by a robust bipartisan coalition, calls for replacing the state’s troubled existing political map-making system, which produced seven sets of Statehouse and congressional maps that were declared unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Ohio’s ruling Republicans. It would replace the existing redistricting commission — made up of four lawmakers, the governor, the auditor and the secretary of state — with a 15-person citizen-led commission of Republicans, Democrats and independents. Members would be selected by retired judges.

At issue in this case is ballot language the ballot board approved Friday along party lines. Among other things, it would describe the proposed constitutional amendment, which seeks to “ban partisan gerrymandering,” as creating a 15-member Citizens Redistricting Commission that would be “required to gerrymander” Ohio’s legislative and congressional districts.