COLUMBUS — The lone statewide ballot issue asking Ohio voters to approve a change to the state’s redistricting process was shot down by voters Tuesday.
The proposal would have established a 15-person Citizens Redistricting Commission, made up of non-politicians.
As of 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday night, voters statewide disapproved of the proposed constitutional amendment by a margin of 54.09% to 45.91%. That meant 2,338,819 votes for the amendment, and 2,756,046 against with over 90% of the vote in.
That means Ohio’s current redistricting processes for both state legislative and congressional districts will remain in place.
Ohio lawmakers currently draw the maps. In 2022, the state Supreme Court ruled seven times that the current maps are unconstitutional, unduly favoring Republican candidates.
In Ashland, Richland and Knox counties, voters fell in line with the statewide trend, rejecting the proposal to create the Citizens Redistricting Commission. Those counties voted as follows:
- Ashland County: Final, unofficial results show Issue 1 failing by a margin of 70.24% to 29.76%. That’s 17,767 “no” votes in Ashland County, and 7,527 “yes” votes.
- Knox County: The ballot measure failed in Knox County, with 21,323 voters saying “no” and 9,344 “yes.” That means a margin of 69.53% to 30.47%.
- Richland County: A total of 35,606 people voted “no” on Issue 1 in Richland County, while 16,706 voted “yes.” Issue 1 failed in Richland County by a margin of 68.06% to 31.94%.
Marilyn John, a Republican candidate for Ohio’s House District 76 who won re-election Tuesday, told Richland Source she was “thrilled” to see Issue 1 go down.
“That’s something my colleagues and I have been working hard to defeat,” John said.
