COLUMBUS— Lt. Governor Jon Husted issued the following statement on the issue of congressional and legislative redistricting and the proposed constitutional amendment on the fall ballot:

“Issue one is based on the flawed concept of proportionality and would enshrine gerrymandering in the Ohio Constitution, undermining representative democracy by allowing a small group of unaccountable commissioners to predetermine the political control of congressional and legislative districts without competitive elections.

“The idea of proportionality sounds fair in the same way socialism sounds fair—it completely ignores merit and thwarts competition in favor of predetermined outcomes.

“By definition, proportionality will set a fixed number of heavily Republican or Democratic districts, largely eliminating competitive general elections. This violates the goal of any rational redistricting proposal, which should keep communities together and allow for as many competitive districts as possible. Issue one’s flawed concept of proportionality would be embedded in the Ohio Constitution, forcing Ohioans to accept a fixed number of heavily partisan districts.

“Issue one will lead to gerrymandered districts that do not accurately reflect the natural political landscape of communities where people with common values choose to live and desire representation by people who will represent their values.

“As I have long advocated, Ohio would be best served by a redistricting system that keeps communities together and creates as many competitive districts as possible, enabling voters to choose the most capable representatives rather than having election outcomes predetermined.

“For these reasons, Ohioans should vote NO on Issue one and demand a proposal that would keep our communities together and allow for competitive general elections in Ohio.”

Governor Mike DeWine also expressed his opposition to the proposed ballot initiative. “If this amendment were to be adopted, Ohio would actually end up with a system that mandates – that compels – map drawers to produce gerrymandered districts,” said Governor DeWine. “In fact, Ohio would have gerrymandering in the extreme.”