Ohio state Senator Frank LaRose wants to change the way Congressional districts are drawn. The Republican legislator says his joint resolution would keep the power to draw district lines in the General Assembly but change the way it’s approved.
“It requires the state legislature to either pass it with a 2/3 majority or with a majority of each of the two major parties.”
But his proposal has no co-sponsors and faces an uphill battle against his own party which controls the statehouse.
Catherine Turcer -- chair of the Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition – does not believe the legislature will pass the resolution. She’s working on a separate ballot proposal that relies on a bipartisan mapping process and limits the breaking up of counties into separate Congressional districts, like the 9 th District along the coast of Lake Erie.
“Gerrymandering -- One of the reasons you can do that crazy district that runs from Toledo to Cleveland is there is no prohibitions right now on breaking up communities at all or cities or towns,” says Turcer. “It’s much more difficult to play games if you have to keep those counties together.”
Both Turcer and LaRose agree the current system of gerrymandering does not allow for competitive elections in Ohio.
Click here to hear the entire interview with Senator LaRose on "ideas."
