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Ohio Voters Will Decide Congressional Redistricting in May

A photo of Husted and Sykes.
KAREN KASLER
/
OHIO PUBLIC RADIO STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU

A plan to change the way the state’s map of Congressional districts will be drawn after the 2020 census will be on the May ballot as Issue 1. 

The Ballot Board voted to put before voters statewide the deal Republican legislative leaders worked out with Democratic lawmakers and citizens’ organizations who were pushing a ballot issue for November. Ballot board chair and Secretary of State Jon Husted praised his former colleagues in the Legislature for this deal, something he’d tried to do when he was a lawmaker.

“I’d like to congratulate the members of the General Assembly for bringing this to us today and look forward to seeing it on the ballot in May.”

Citizens’ groups had wanted to put the map-drawing authority with a bipartisan commission. But the issue voters will see ultimately keeps the power with lawmakers. In return, the lawmakers agreed to concessions on limiting the number of times counties can be split and requiring minority party buy-in for long-term maps.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.