The Ohio League of Women Voters is the latest group to endorse Issue 1, the ballot measure changing the process for drawing lines for legislative districts. From our Statehouse Bureau Jo Ingles has more on the issue:
On the 95th anniversary of women's right to vote being enshrined into the U.S. Constitution, the Ohio League of Women Voters formally endorsed Issue One. President Carrie Davis said passage of that redistricting plan would put clear rules in place. And she said these new rules would have teeth.
"We do have rules for how districts are supposed to be drawn but the Supreme Court has deemed not to enforce them. They said they are not binding, they are not required. That is one of the very important reasons why we need to change how we draw districts to make sure we have rules that are required, that are binding, that the redistricting commission does have to follow," Davis said.
Davis and other backers of this issue said it requires transparency, public comment on maps before they are adopted and bipartisan compromise. The Ohio Republican Party has endorsed the plan. The Ohio Democratic Party is expected to vote on whether to endorse it soon.