Does Ohio Need Gerrymandering Reform?

The Community's Conversation

Content provided by Columbus Metropolitan Club. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Columbus Metropolitan Club or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

8M ago 52:27

MP3•Episode home

With early voting already underway, Ohio voters are being asked to decide if a new approach to redrawing the state’s electoral districts is necessary. At stake is potentially nothing less than the future control of Ohio’s statewide legislative bodies.

The nonprofit Citizens Not Politicians asserts that Ohio’s current electoral districts are gerrymandered – or drawn unfairly to tilt the electoral playing field – and favors Republicans who currently control both the Ohio House and Senate, while Republican leaders have said no such unfairness exists and that the Democratic failure to secure more of Ohio’s legislative seats is simply an accurate reflection of voter preference.

If the proposed ballot initiative passes, control over drawing Ohio’s electoral districts will pass from politicians to a new 15-member nonpartisan board.

Will the state’s voters agree that gerrymandering is an issue Ohio needs to solve with a fresh approach, or will the status quo win out? We unpack the future of Ohio’s legislative districts and the stark choice the state’s voters face this fall.

Featuring:

Kareem Crayton, Vice President, The Brennan Center for Justice

Keith Faber, Ohio Auditor of State

Maureen O'Connor, Former Chief Justice, The Supreme Court of Ohio

Bradley Smith, The Josiah H. Blackmore II / Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law, Capital University

The moderator is Jessie Balmert, State Government Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch | Gannett | USA Today Network.

This forum was sponsored by The Charles F. Kettering Foundation, The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and The Ohio Debate Commission. Our forum partner was The League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus.

The livestream presenting sponsor was The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation. CMC's livestream and marketing partner was The Columbus Dispatch. It was supported by Vue Columbus.

This forum was recorded before a live audience at Vue Columbus in the Brewery District on October 16, 2024.

100 episodes

#Society #Columbusmetropolitanclub #Communityconversation #Publicforum #Columbus Metropolitan Club #News #TownHall