Voters First: okay to sign petition for your brother

Voters First is a group primarily made up of unions and Democrats who want to change the way Ohio draws its congressional districts. They want to create an un-elected board of citizens to draw the lines, instead of letting the Ohio legislature do the job.

In order to make this change, they circulated petitions to put a constitutional amendment before voters. The signed petitions have been submitted and are in the process of having the signatures verified. If they have enough valid signatures, we'll see the item on the November ballot.

But this July 3 video from the Ohio Republican Party calls into question the tactics, as well as the signatures:



Yep, even though you've already signed, it's okay for you to sign again using someone else's name.

But that's not all. In this video, taken on June 6, a petitioner tells a man that it's okay to sign the petition even though the man does not live in Ohio:



I'm opposed to the Voters First proposal. They don't like the districts that resulted from the last re-drawing and since Democrats in the legislature failed to timely submit their own proposal, this seems like sour grapes to me.

I also do not like the fact that an un-elected board will make the decisions. Having individuals with no accountability to anyone does not improve the current process in which districts are drawn by elected individuals who are accountable to the voters.

Furthermore, I see much more room for partisan influence in this proposed body than in the current process. Because Ohio lost population, we had to eliminate two districts. The legislature eliminated one Republican-held district and one Democrat-held district. How much more even-handed can you get?

Voters First claims that by having non-elected individuals draw the lines, we'll end up with better districts and less gerrymandering to create Republican- or Democrat-leaning ones. But the predominance of Democrats in larger cities and Republicans in rural areas, combined with the laws on discrimination and voting, make drawing districts extremely difficult to begin with and there is no guarantee that any other group will do any better than what we already have.

They say they want "politically balanced" districts - not "safe districts," but also want to keep communities together inside a district. There is no way to draw a district that includes the city of Toledo or the city of Cleveland and not end up with a 'safe' district for a Democrat. Their goal of keeping the 'community' (city) together is incompatible with a "politically balanced" district.

Besides, as we've all seen, no matter how much they claim a board will be non-partisan, they always end up being exactly that.

I'd rather have the elected representatives do this than rely upon a group of people I, as a voter, have no control over. This is the opposite of 'voters first.'

House passes revised congressional map; establishes March 6 for primary

Press Release - the referenced map is viewable here.

House Passes Revised Congressional Map with Strong Bipartisan Support

House Bill 369 reunites Ohio’s primaries to single day in March

COLUMBUS—Speaker of the Ohio House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina) announced today that a revised congressional map has passed the Ohio House with strong bipartisan support. The new map, found in House Bill 369, was introduced by State Representative Matt Huffman (R-Lima) in early November after working closely with members of the House Minority Caucus.

“This map represents the second fair and legal map passed by the Ohio House of Representatives in recent weeks,” Speaker Batchelder said. “I am pleased that the House Republican Caucus has led the charge in not only passing a competitive congressional map, but also in ensuring that Ohioans have only one state and federal primary in 2012.”

Among other things, the bill reunites Ohio’s primaries to one day on March 6, 2012 and will save the state $15 million by doing so. It also creates a bi-partisan legislative task force to review congressional redistricting and issue a report to the General Assembly next year. The filing deadline for presidential and congressional candidates will be reopened to a December 30, 2011 deadline if passed.

“This bill contains a number of positive provisions, including reuniting Ohio's primaries and saving the taxpayers $15 million,” Rep. Huffman said. “The House Republican Caucus never stopped negotiations with the members of the House Minority Caucus and incorporated a number of their suggestions in this bill. We appreciate their support of House Bill 369.”

House Bill 369 passed with a vote of 77-17 and contains an emergency clause which, if passed by the Ohio Senate, will take effect upon the governor’s signature.

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Latest version of Ohio Congressional redistricting map

Amended Substitute H.B. 369 contains a new version of the Ohio Congressional district map. Below is the map as contained in the bill. You can see that our 9th Congressional District is still along the shoreline of Lake Erie, from Toledo to Cleveland.

You can click on the image for a larger view:

Revised Ohio Congressional District maps - again

The Ohio House has *again* revised the Congressional redistricting map and I hope to have a new map I can post here. Until then, a copy of the new revisions can be viewed here.

The process of getting to the required redistricting has been a complicated one.

Ohio passed, and Governor John Kasich signed, H.B. 194 which moved our primary from March to May. This was to address a delay in the creation of a database of election history, census data, and geographic data that was to be used in congressional map creation. This was agreed to by Republican and Democrat leadership in Columbus.

However, in response to the change, the Ohio Democratic Party along with the group Ohioans for Fair Elections submitted sufficient signatures to send the bill to a citizen referendum during the 2012 elections.

So the House passed H.B. 318 - a bipartisan bill jointly sponsored by Reps. Lou Blessing (R) and Sean O’Brien (D). This bill, which also moved the primary to May, contained an emergency clause, ensuring the bill would take effect immediately if passed with the emergency clause.

On September 1, 2011, Speaker William Batchelder and Minority Leader Armond Budish released a joint statement, committing their unconditional support for House Bill 318 to avoid the legal chaos that would ensue if the primary was not moved. Leader Budish gave his word to the Speaker on this issue.

But, less than 24 hours before the vote, Leader Budish publicly announced he would no longer lend his caucus’ support for the bill because “House Republicans were moving too fast on passing Congressional Redistricting." It should be noted that this issue was never part of the agreement and had no correlation to the primary date change.

As a result, the Democrats failed to support the necessary emergency clause during the House vote, subsequently killing any chance for the problem to be fixed immediately.

The third attempt came with H.B. 319 which was signed into law by Gov. Kasich on Sept. 26th. This bill avoided the problem by having the new Congressional districts take effect immediately rather than 90 days after signature by the Governor; bills with an appropriation take effect immediately. The Ohio Senate attached an appropriation of $2.75 million to H.B. 319 to assist with the implementation of the map. An appropriation also prevents bills from being subject to a referendum.

Remember, the Democrats, despite having allocated funds to do so, did NOT produce any map for consideration.

In response to H.B. 319, Democrats sued in the Ohio Supreme Court, seeking the right to subject the bill to a referendum. The Ohio Supreme Court agreed that the bill would be subject to a referendum if enough signatures were gathered. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern has threatened such action.

So now we have H.B. 369 which

* enacts 16 new Congressional districts in Ohio;
* repeals the map as enacted in H.B. 319;
* reinstates one primary date for all elections: March 6, 2012;
* Saves taxpayers $15 million in previously appropriated money that will now be un-appropriated and also reinstates the August 2012 special election; and
* declares an emergency for all portions of the bill.

Of particular interest to us, H.B. 369 makes changes in Erie and Lucas County. Rather than being split into three congressional districts, both counties are split between only two congressional districts. Wood County, which was previously split between two districts, is now entirely in one.

One of the complaints about the H.B. 319 district was that it split the City of Toledo. H.B. 369 moves 76.6% of Toledo into CD9. CD9 now contains about 56% of Lucas County.

Additionally, from what I can tell from the map as well as from the summaries I've read, it appears that they kept the Kaptur/Kucinich combination in the Cleveland area as one of the consolidated districts due to our decreased representation.

As soon as I get a map that is in a format I can post here, I will do so.

Ohio redistricting plan goes to governor for signature

Press Release:

Ohio House Approves Senate Changes to Redistricting Bill

COLUMBUS—The Ohio House of Representatives today voted to concur on Senate changes to House Bill 319, which establishes boundaries for Ohio’s 16 congressional districts based on the 2010 decennial census.

The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee added a $2.75 million appropriation to House Bill 319, which will be utilized by local boards of elections for preparation for the new district lines. This amendment was approved by the House with bipartisan support.

“This amendment will provide local governments the tools they need to prepare for upcoming elections and adapt to the newly drawn districts,” said State Representative Matt Huffman (R-Lima).

House Bill 319 had passed from the House with bipartisan support on September 15th. It complies with the Voting Rights Act and U.S. Supreme Court precedents to ensure that the civil rights of minority communities are protected during the redistricting process. It also treats incumbent candidates equally, with three Republican and three Democrat incumbents drawn into overlapping territories.

Having passed both the House and the Senate, House Bill 319 will now move to the governor for his signature.

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Ohio House passes redistricting legislation

Press Release:

Congressional Map Receives Bipartisan Support in Ohio House

Proposed fair and legal map garners support from Cuyahoga County Democrats

COLUMBUS—After months of diligent work and many regional hearings throughout Ohio, the Ohio House of Representatives today passed House Bill 319, which establishes boundaries for Ohio’s 16 congressional districts based on the 2010 decennial census. The legislation—which passed with bipartisan support—adheres to the U.S. Constitution, the Ohio Constitution, and the Voting Rights Act to ensure that it respects all requirements set forth in law.

“I am very pleased with the hard work of Chairman Huffman and the members of the House State Government and Elections Committee in creating a map that is fair, legal and in the best interest of all Ohioans,” said Speaker of the House William G. Batchelder (R-Medina). “Most importantly, we have maintained a transparent process by taking the discussions to all corners of Ohio and soliciting the opinions of the people.”

“We held five regional hearings to gain feedback from Ohioans, and their suggestions and concerns were taken into consideration in drafting this proposal,” said State Representative Matt Huffman (R-Lima), who serves as chairman of the State Government and Elections Committee. “I applaud the timely action by my colleagues in the House to pass this bill and ensure that county boards of elections have adequate time to prepare for upcoming elections.”

The map outlined in H.B. 319 treats incumbent candidates equally, with three Republican and three Democrat incumbents drawn into overlapping territories. It also complies with clear precedents of the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Supreme Court in ensuring that the civil rights of minority communities are protected in the redistricting process. Similarly, it creates an additional minority opportunity district in Franklin County.

However, despite the opportunity for bipartisanship in the redrawing of district lines, the House Republican Caucus did not receive a single suggestion for a congressional map from the House Democrats—even though the minority caucus was granted equal funding for such a project. Like all Ohioans, the House Democrats were encouraged to research and submit congressional map proposals for consideration by the State Government and Elections Committee.

“Although many Ohioans took the time to prepare maps for submission, I am disappointed that the House Democrat Caucus snubbed the opportunity to provide their own ideas, yet continue to criticize from the sidelines,” Huffman said. “This map will impact Ohioans for the next decade and will play an enormous role within our communities. All lawmakers have an obligation to represent their constituents by leading with common-sense, bipartisan solutions, not partisan rhetoric. However, I am extremely pleased that Representatives Barnes, Patmon and Williams expressed their support for this common-sense measure and recognized the benefits of this proposal for all Ohioans—Republican and Democrat, urban and rural.”

House Bill 319 has received the support of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, which “commends the House for working in a timely fashion to pass a congressional redistricting bill,” according to Executive Director Aaron Ockerman.

H.B. 319 will now move to the Ohio Senate for further consideration and debate.

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Ohio Redistricting Map proposed

Below is the congressional redistricting map that was introduced today in the House State Government and Elections Committee. Press release is below the map.

You'll note that our Congressional District 9 has been changed. It used to contain Toledo, Oregon, Jerusalem Township, and all of Ottawa and Erie Counties, with just a small portion of Lorain County. Now it contains a small portion of Ottawa, about half of Erie and extends into Lorain County with a portion of Cuyahoga carved out for inclusion. It also looks like Oregon has been excluded from the district.

It still follows along the edge of Lake Erie, but talk about gerrymandering - no one in their right mind would draw a district like this.

State Government and Elections Committee Unveils Fair and Legal Congressional Map

COLUMBUS—Today, the House State Government and Elections Committee unveiled the new map of Ohio’s congressional districts, which accounts for population changes over the past decade as determined by the federally administered decennial census.

“This is a fair and legal map that incorporates input from Ohioans across the state,” said State Representative Matt Huffman (R-Lima), who serves as chairman of the House State Government and Elections Committee. “We held five regional hearings across Ohio and heard testimony from many witnesses who provided input on what the new congressional map should look like. Based on the public input at these hearings, I am confident that the map I am presenting today accomplishes several goals, among them creating fair and competitive districts.”

The proposed map treats incumbent candidates equally, with three Republican and three Democrat incumbents drawn into overlapping territories as a result of slow regional population growth.

The congressional redistricting plan also protects the civil rights of minority communities by complying with the clear precedents of the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Supreme Court in creating an African American majority-minority district in Cuyahoga and Summit counties. It also creates a minority opportunity district in Franklin County.

“In drawing these districts and moving House Bill 319 through the legislative process, it was vital to not only respect both Republican and Democrat congressmen, but also to take into account how Ohio’s minority populations will be impacted,” Rep. Huffman said. “It is important that we consider and pass this measure promptly and methodically, so as to ensure that communities and local boards of elections have ample time to prepare for upcoming elections.”

“The Ohio Association of Election Officials commends the House for working in a timely fashion to pass a congressional redistricting bill,” said Aaron Ockerman, Executive Director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials. “It is our hope that the General Assembly will move quickly to pass new lines which, when coupled with passage of a bill to move the primary to May, will help ensure an orderly voting process for all Ohio voters in 2012.”

The congressional district map as outlined in House Bill 319 is the result of months of work and adheres to all requirements set forth in law.

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Ohio Apportionment Board schedules public meetings

Below is the list of the Ohio Apportionment Board hearings across the state. Note that the hearing for Toledo is Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, at the University of Toledo.

2011 APPORTIONMENT BOARD PROPOSED REGIONAL HEARING SCHEDULE

Monday, August 22, 2011

10:00AM – 12:00PM Lima
Lima Ohio State University – Lima
Life & Physical Sciences Building – Science 100
4240 Campus Drive
Lima, Ohio 45804

3:30PM – 5:30PM Toledo
University of Toledo
Scott Park Campus Auditorium
Toledo, Ohio 43606

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

9:00AM – 11:00AM Cleveland
Cleveland State University
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Atrium
1717 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115

1:00PM – 3:00PM Akron
University of Akron
Martin University Center Ballroom
Akron, Ohio 44325

5:00PM – 7:00PM Youngstown
Youngstown State University
Kilcawley Center Chestnut Room
1 University Plaza
Youngstown, OH 44555-0002

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

9:00AM – 11:00AM Canton
Walsh University
Barrette Center – Fran Corp Conference Center
2020 Easton Street N.W.
North Canton, Ohio 44720

3:00PM – 5:00PM Marietta
Marietta College
Andrews Hall Great Room #203
215 5th Street
Marietta, OH 45750

Thursday, August 25, 2011

10:00AM – 12:00PM Dayton
University of Dayton
“1700” Auditorium (former NCR HQ)
1700 South Patterson Blvd.
Dayton, Ohio 45479

3:00PM – 5:00PM Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
Tangeman University Center - Main Street Cinema
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221

Friday, August 26, 2011

9:00AM – 11:00AM Newark
The Ohio State University – Newark
Reese Center – Alfred Performing Arts Hall (RS110)
1179 University Drive
Newark, Ohio 43055

2:00PM – 4:00PM Columbus
Columbus State Community College
Workforce Development Center Ballroom
315 Cleveland Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43215

Regional congressional redistricting hearings announced

Press Release:

COLUMBUS—Rep. Matt Huffman (R-Lima), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Redistricting, and Sen. Keith Faber (R-Celina), Chair of the soon-to-be-named Senate Select Committee on Redistricting, announced that they will hold a series of joint hearings in July and August in order to receive public feedback on Congressional redistricting.

“Ensuring an opportunity for public input is an important part of the Congressional redistricting process,” said Chairman Huffman.

In Ohio, Congressional district plans are enacted by the General Assembly through the legislative process and codified in Ohio Revised Code 3521.01. While there is no statutory deadline for completion of Congressional redistricting, the filing deadline for Congressional candidates serves as the practical deadline.

“I hope that these hearings will provide Ohioans with a meaningful opportunity to share their thoughts on how the redistricting process will affect their communities,” said Chairman Faber.

A detailed hearing schedule with times and locations is attached to this release.

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Interestingly, there are none in Toledo - the closest to us is in Lima on Aug. 2nd. Here is the schedule:

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

9AM – 12PM
Columbus
Ohio Statehouse
Senate Finance Room
Columbus, Ohio 43215

3PM – 6PM
Zanesville
Ohio University – Zanesville Campus
Campus Center, Room T430
1425 Newark Road
Zanesville, Ohio 43701

Thursday, July 21, 2011

9AM – 12PM
Cleveland
Cleveland State University
Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs – Atrium
Euclid & 17th Avenues
Cleveland, Ohio 44115

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

9AM – 12PM
Lima
The Ohio State University at Lima & Rhodes State College
Life & Physical Sciences Building
4240 Campus Drive
Lima, Ohio 45804

3:30 PM – 6PM
Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
MainStreet Cinema
Tangeman University Center, Room 220
Cincinnati, Ohio 45221