Ohio Issue 1: a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gerrymandering

[josephpalazzo]



In Ohio today, voters have an opportunity to apply the cure.

Ohio Issue 1, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban partisan gerrymandering and establish a bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission to draw legislative district lines, is being pitched as a good-government reform. But that undersells its significance. This is a bold response to America’s broken political processes.

The vote on Issue 1 is one of a number of vital tests that are in the ballot in states across the country today, as Americans go to the polls for a classic off-year election.

http://www.thenation.com/article/if-ohio-bans-gerrymandering-today-there-could-be-hope-for-american-democracy/

[PopeyesPappy]

Definitely more important than pot...

If they vote against the amendment it will be a sure sign the reason our political system is broken is because the voters are too stupid to live.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Being from Ohio I have strong doubts it's going to pass because Ohio over the past few years has been HEAVILY gerrymandered by republicans to the point that the same state Obama carried twice is now almost completely dominated by republicans and the secretary of state Husted is a fucking crooked just like the shithead governor.
The cities overwhelmingly usually vote democratic and yet rubes run the state with an iron fist. It's not AS IF Ohio has only a handful of big cities. They're not NY or LA, but there's Cleveland,  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  Dayton,  Toledo,  etc. 

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Definitely more important than pot...

If they vote against the amendment it will be a sure sign the reason our political system is broken is because the voters are too stupid to live.

No, it's that the secretary of state in Ohio is a crook. So is the governor.

[stromboli]

Right. This in a state that has already had the shit gerrymandered out of it.

[PopeyesPappy]

No, it's that the secretary of state in Ohio is a crook. So is the governor.

So are the most of the rest of them. But now that this measure is on the state wide ballot neither that nor the voting districts matter diddly. The whole state gets to vote, and if the measure fails it will be the voters that chose to fuck themselves.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

So are the most of the rest of them. But now that this measure is on the state wide ballot neither that nor the voting districts matter diddly. The whole state gets to vote, and if the measure fails it will be the voters that chose to fuck themselves.

It's an off year election. It should be held during the presidential election, but it goes to the ballot when few people bother to vote and even fewer even know the vote is even taking place.

[Baruch]

Gerrymandering has been around for over 200 years.  If we can ban it, ban it retroactively!

An independent, non=elected judiciary should oversee political boundaries ... not politicians.

[josephpalazzo]

Issue 1 was passed:

http://www.cleveland.com/election-results/index.ssf/2015/11/statewide_results_for_ohio_iss.html

Here are the unofficial results for statewide issues from the Ohio Secretary of State's website. Latest update: 1 a.m.

State Issue 1

Issue 1 creates a process for drawing legislative districts to discourage dominant parties from setting boundaries that strongly favor themselves by requiring that the other major party agree to the map. (read more)

YES   2,025,467
NO   808,999

[SGOS]

I've never sat down and tried to figure out logically how gerrymandering works, but it always struck me that if you create a district that favors Republicans by excluding as many Democrats as you can, it would result in other districts heavily weighted with all those excluded Democrats.  I guess politicians just figured out it's a puzzle that does have a solution, even though it intuitively seems like it couldn't be done at first glance.  Creative little devils, those Republicans and Democrats.  You can't let them out of your sight for a minute.

[josephpalazzo]

I've never sat down and tried to figure out logically how gerrymandering works, but it always struck me that if you create a district that favors Republicans by excluding as many Democrats as you can, it would result in other districts heavily weighted with all those excluded Democrats.  I guess politicians just figured out it's a puzzle that does have a solution, even though it intuitively seems like it couldn't be done at first glance.  Creative little devils, those Republicans and Democrats.  You can't let them out of your sight for a minute.

The problem in a gerrymandered district, whether it's Republican or Democrat, is that the incumbent is practically assured of being re-elected. That tends to get candidates with extreme views, less willing to cooperate or compromise. Get a few dozens of those and you get gridlock in Congress.

[GSOgymrat]

I like this illustration.

[stromboli]

We don't have gerrymandering in Utah because the whole fucking state is Mormon Republican. We do have salamanders. I know. I used to kill them with my .22.

[SGOS]

I like this illustration.

There you go!  The illustration quickly explains what I didn't want to spend time trying to understand.  Thanks.

[SGOS]

Apparently, in Illinois, the situation is reversed with Democrats gerrymandering the Hell out of the Chicago area.  I have a Republican friend who told me this was happening, and he actually acted like it was a Democrat thing.  I do think the concept sucks and should be eliminated, however.