Ohioans will vote in November on a plan to change the way the state draws its legislative districts. Some don't like the plan and think Iowa has a system worth replicating. WOSU reporter George Shillcock joins the show to discuss the Iowa way.
Before coming to WOSU, Shillcock worked as a government and politics reporter for newspapers in Iowa and is familiar with Iowa's redistricting system.
How to draw a district
If voters approve the proposed amendment, Ohio politicians will no longer be able to pick their voters. Legislative lines would be drawn by a bipartisan independent commission rather than by top elected leaders, as is currently the case.
Ohio’s current system has led to what experts say is one of the country’s most gerrymandered states. For the past decade, Republicans have enjoyed supermajorities in the state legislature.
Not surprisingly, top Ohio Republicans don’t like the new plan—Gov. DeWine among them. Even though he sits on the current redistricting commission and approved the latest maps, he says the system does not work. Just three months before the election, he proposes a different way—a better way. The governor suggests that Ohio should adopt the Iowa system of drawing legislative and congressional districts.
Iowa’s system does seem less political than Ohio’s current system. A state agency draws the maps and is prohibited from using partisan or election data when drawing districts. There are other rules as well. However, ultimately, it’s up to the state legislature and the governor to sign off on the maps. If they can’t or won’t agree, the Iowa Supreme Court draws them.
Snollygoster of the week
Earlier this year, Ohio Republicans used a state law to try to block three transgender Democratic candidates from the ballot. The law states that if candidates for public office change their name within five years of running, they must disclose their former names. The transgender candidates did not disclose their former names. As a result, one of the candidates was blocked, while the other two were not.
Now, as reported by Cleveland.com, the chair of the Mahoning County Democrats, Chris Anderson, says newly appointed State Rep. Tex Fisher should be blocked from the ballot. It appears Tex Fisher legally changed his name from Austin James Fischer to Austin James Texford Fisher. Even though the change occurred within five years of his candidacy, he did not include his former name on official documents—much like the transgender candidates.
Chairman Anderson told Cleveland.com: “If they’re going to use the law to penalize trans candidates, then it needs to be applied equally.”
Fisher said he’s gone by Tex since he was a kid and argues that it’s undemocratic to remove him from the ballot on a technicality.
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