A group of Ohio academics, Democratic political party officials, and community members have joined to form an organization they’re calling the Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission.
The group will use community input to generate recommendations on political redistricting. The commission will submit this as public testimony during the official redistricting process later this year.
Ellen Green Bush is a member of the group. She said at a virtual commission meeting last week that gerrymandered state maps diminish the power of voters.
“The same legislators keep getting voted into office despite not voting the way constituents want them to do,” said Green Bush.
Katy Shanahan is the state director of All On The Line, an organization working to end gerrymandering. At the meeting, Shanahan said the citizens’ group is modeling how the official redistricting commission should determine district maps.
"Ultimately redistricting is about the people. And that means the people should be at the center of every single conversation we have about what our districts look like now, whether or not they serve our communities and what they need to look like moving forward," said Shanahan.
Ohio’s redistricting commission must vote on new maps by mid-September.