In Ohio, there seemed to be broad support for Issue 1
– the proposal to create an independent redistricting commission.

The measure had the endorsement of the state’s major newspapers.

Supporters heavily outraised opponents by a nearly eight-to-one ratio.

The most prominent public figure behind the amendment was the recently retired chief justice of the Ohio supreme court, a Republican.

And in the weeks leading up to the election, 69% of voters said they opposed gerrymandering.

⚠️ But it was opponents of the measure who had the biggest advantage of all.

🔥In August, the Republican-controlled Ohio ballot board crafted extremely misleading language that voters would see when they read their ballots.

Even though the ballot measure would have barred drawing districts
“that favor one political party and disfavor others”,
👉 the board-approved wording told voters the panel would be
“required to gerrymander the boundaries of state legislative and congressional districts to favor the two largest political parties in the state of Ohio”.

The language was later upheld by the Republican-controlled Ohio supreme court.

💥Proponents of the amendment said the effort was a thinly veiled attempt to confuse voters
– and it worked.

Voters told the radio station WOSU and the news site Bolts that they voted no on the amendment thinking they were casting a vote to outlaw gerrymandering.

Jen Miller, the executive director of the Ohio chapter of the League of Women Voters, said the ballot language was so misleading that she wasn’t sure one could even compare the failure of the amendment in the state to other measures that came up short.

“You could functionally argue that every person who voted on Issue 1 was voting to end gerrymandering.
But that the disinformation campaign of the opposition, as well as the shockingly false descriptions that voters saw on their ballots, is what made our reform lose,” she said.

“I am completely sure that this does not reflect the will of the voters in Ohio. Absent disinformation and terribly misleading ballot language, Issue 1 would have won.”

Matt Dole, a spokesperson for the campaign against the Ohio ballot measure, said that when the opposition campaign began polling, it looked like the measure was going to pass easily.
“It was ahead by leaps and bounds,” he said.

He pointed to the language written by the ballot board as a key reason why the measure failed.

“You have the ‘yes on 1’ side that had
‘ban gerrymandering’ on their yard signs, and the ‘no on 1’ side had
‘stop gerrymandering’ on their yard signs,” he said in an interview.

He added he didn’t think his campaign’s messaging was misleading because the term was somewhat subjective.
#ohioissue1

@chrisgeidner

#Ohio here. It is disheartening the way the gerrymandered GOP treats us voters. From passing the no special elections, then having a special election to try to strip ballot issues from Ohioans, to now, dismissing the overwhelming will of the voters as it comes to #OhioIssue1 and #OhioIssue2. It's disgusting. #USpol #OhPol