Margo Ellis, Opinion Editor–
If you’re registered to vote in Ohio, you’ve most likely heard about Issue 1.
Issue 1 is a ballot initiative that, if passed, will approve an amendment to the state constitution that removes elected officials from the redistricting process and creates a bi-partisan committee of citizens tasked with redistricting.
The text of the actual amendment explains just that—promising to enact a fair, equal process for modifying Ohio’s voting districts. This legislation is important because it is designed to prevent gerrymandering, as the last seven redistricting proposals drafted by the current committee of elected officials have been declared unconstitutional due to gerrymandering.
Reading the ballot, however, an entirely different amendment is described.
This amendment would “repeal constitutional protections against gerrymandering,” according to the description on my sample ballot. This new committee would be “required to gerrymander the boundaries” of districts, the direct opposite of what the actual text describes.
You might be wondering where this discrepancy comes from. How is it possible that ideas so far from the actual legislation can be presented on a “bipartisan” ballot- A ballot that is given to every single Ohio voter?
The answer is simple: those who would lose power if this amendment were passed are the same people who control elections across the entire state. The elected officials that would be removed from this process are none other than the governor, auditor, and most importantly, Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
LaRose oversees state-wide elections in Ohio and approved that this language be put on Ohio ballots. Of course, this issue can’t be solely blamed on him- in September, the Republican-controlled Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the wording was not unconstitutional and did not require LaRose to change the language that makes incredibly false claims about the legislation.
It is not my aim to sit here and lecture about all the things wrong with Ohio’s Republican party, as I could do the same for any other party. There is no villain or saint in politics. However, we must recognize this abuse of power coming from one of Ohio’s highest-elected offices. I know I cannot change the vote of someone voting “No,” and part of that is thanks to the misinformation-filled ad campaigns produced by groups that support LaRose and Ohio’s conservative agenda. No group should have the power to control an election in such an obvious way, yet this moment in American politics has proved again and again that certain agendas hold fast to this corruption.
Ultimately, my point is this: we must educate ourselves. It is dangerous to rely on those who hold power to tell voters what is right and wrong. No matter your beliefs or the party on your ballot, we all are entitled to accurate and unbiased information. Do your research. Look up your ballot. Don’t rely on party lines to tell you how to vote. Sure, candidates are marked ‘D’ and ‘R,’ but do you know what they stand for? Do you know what policies they’ve run on? If you don’t, find out.
In the end, it is difficult to control the people we elect once they’ve been sworn into office. This is why I encourage everyone to make informed decisions before they vote, rather than when they’re standing in the voting booth staring at names they’ve never seen before. Issue 1 is the perfect example of what could happen if we follow power blindly- and we cannot let this continue, lest our democracy crumble at our feet.
I’ll be voting in November with the knowledge that I alone decide who I choose.
Will you?
Margo Ellis ‘28 is a politics and public affairs major from Akron, Ohio.