16 Ohio U.S. Congressional Districts: What s wrong with this picture?

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2 Gerrymandering Gerrymandering happens when the party in power draws district lines to rig elections to favor one political party over another. Both Republicans and Democrats have done it. Gerrymandering produces fewer competitive elections and makes elected officials less accountable to their constituents. How do map-makers gerrymander? Packing & cracking. The party in power packs voters of the minority party into as few districts as possible to reduce the number of minority districts. The majority party also cracks voters of the minority into a number of districts, diluting their voting power.

3 16 Ohio U.S. Congressional Districts: What s wrong with this picture? Fair Districts says: A lot! Fair Districts started as a coalition of the League of Women Voters and Common Cause Ohio. We have a proposal to make Congressional redistricting fair and responsive to the voters. We need your help to get it on the 2018 Ohio ballot as a referendum. FAIR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS FOR OHIO

4 Redistricting 101: Why do we redraw districts? There are 435 Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives, 16 from Ohio; this number is set by law. The US Supreme Court has said all legislative districts should have roughly the same population. This is called one person, one vote. Every 10 years the US Census is conducted to measure population changes. The year following the Census, districts are redrawn to account for population changes. States can gain or lose representatives, depending on population shifts. Ohio districts were gerrymandered following the 2010 election.

5 Why is gerrymandering legal*? Gerrymandering has not yet been declared unconstitutional but there is a Wisconsin case that is now before the US Supreme Court, Whitford v. Gill. The plaintiff, Bill Whitford, argues that the Wisconsin state legislative map violates the Fourteenth Amendment s guarantee of equal protection. In November 2016, a three judge panel determined that the map was unconstitutional because it was intended to severely impede the weight of individual citizens votes on the basis of their political affiliation. The appeal is now before the U.S. Supreme Court. *While not illegal, many consider gerrymandering undemocratic. FAIR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS FOR OHIO

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7 What would a fair map look like? Compare Ohio s actual map vs Competition Map Ohio s Current Districts (gerrymandered) Non-gerrymandered (winning) map submitted for fair redistricting (but not used)

8 Didn t Ohio already pass redistricting reform? (Yes, but just for state legislative districts) In November 2015, voters overwhelmingly (71+ %) passed State Issue 1, which was proposed by the legislature. The bipartisan redistricting proposal created a more fair and transparent process for drawing state legislative districts - but Congressman John Boehner prevented it from including U.S. Congressional districts. Ohio Representatives districts will be redrawn after the 2020 census. We want to see Congressional redistricting done at the same time.

9 Why now? The influence of technology is why we need to do this NOW! In 2000 and before, gerrymanderers were able to influence voting results by 10% In 2010, thanks to advances in technology and information gathering, gerrymandering was able to influence the vote by over 20% In 2020, due to further advances of technology, gerrymanderers will be able to influence the vote by over 35%! That is negating 1/3 of all votes cast - which makes Ohio no longer a democracy.

10 Additional consequences of gerrymandering Congressional districts are spread out across media markets. Why does this matter? TV time is highly expensive. Due to gerrymandering, candidates must buy air time in 3 or more media markets, increasing the cost of a campaign. Who has the money to pay for that? You guessed it! Corporate and dark money donors. This further erodes voter power, putting it into the hands of special interests usually coming from outside of Ohio.

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12 The Fair Districts = Fair Elections Proposal (The rules governing redistricting) Congressional districts would be drawn by a bipartisan body, the Ohio Redistricting Commission, the same body that will draw state legislative districts under the new rules approved by voters in Requires both parties to agree to a map and prevents rigging districts in one party s favor. Maps cannot be drawn to favor or disfavor a political party or candidate. Prevents gerrymandering, sweetheart deals, or guaranteed safe seats favoring a party. Districts must keep communities together and be compact. Prevents oddly-shaped districts that pack/crack communities. Maps must minimize the splitting of counties, municipalities, and townships, and may not marginalize minority communities. The district map-drawing process must be open, transparent, and accountable to the public. The Commission must release proposed district maps for public testimony and accept public submissions.

13 How can you help? Help us collect signatures to put Fair Districts on the 2018 ballot. Petitions are circulating now, and you can help! Talk to your speaker or check In Cuyahoga County, we are short of volunteers. Help us to verify signatures for Fair Districts to track our progress. Spread the word! Share with your friends and ask them to get involved too. Write letters to the editor of your local paper. Ask allied groups to endorse Fair Districts for Congress too. Invite us to speak. Donate! Donations can be made to the League of Women Voters of Ohio go to click donate, and in the memo please include a note indicating your contribution is for Fair Districts. Support referendum in 2018 election!

14 Find us at Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition Campaign website: Facebook.com/OhFairDistricts Locally on Facebook: Look for Fair Districts Cleveland East and Westshore Fair Districts. Local organization: to find petition centers and support