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On Monday, August 12, 2024, the co-organizers of Columbus Community Bill of Rights PAC (CCBOR) voted to prioritize working through the November election in support of Citizens Not Politicians and getting out the Vote. We believe getting fair maps and ending gerrymandering is a top priority to creating an equitable, sustainable and just Ohio.
Here is important information and links from the Citizens Not Politicians campaign for you to know and take action:
The Problem
Ohio is one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Rigged maps mean rigged elections, and rigged elections mean rigged public policy. You can see that in the nonsense that comes out of the Ohio Statehouse. It doesn't represent the values or address the concerns of Ohio voters.
We've tried to solve the problem of gerrymandering in the past, but unfortunately the politicians in charge ignored the will of the people, the Ohio Constitution, and the rulings of the Ohio Supreme Court. Their maps were struck down seven times!
The Solution
The 'Citizens Not Politicians' amendment was written with Ohio's recent redistricting nightmare in mind. It takes politicians and lobbyists completely out of the redistricting process. The commission would:
- Create a 15-member Citizens
Commission made up of Democrats, Republicans & Independents who
represent the different geographic areas & demographics of Ohio.
- Ban current or former
politicians, political party officials & lobbyists from sitting on the
Commission.
- Require fair & impartial
districts by making it unconstitutional to draw maps that favor any
political party or individual politician.
- Require the commission to
operate under an open and independent process.
How to get involved
We're looking for people to knock doors (find canvasses HERE), hand out fliers, get commit to vote cards filled out, look for endorsements, find places for presentations, put up posters, spread the word via social media, and more!
Most of all, everyone needs to be saying:
Vote Yes on Issue 1! Yes on 1 for Fair Maps! Yes on 1!
You can read more about issues with the ballot language in the segment below this one.
Listen to/watch GrassRoot Ohio interview with Mia Lewis from Common Cause Ohio. She helped organize the volunteer signature gathering effort for the Citizens Not Politicians amendment, with the goal of finally ending gerrymandering.
Mia Lewis is Associate Director of Common Cause Ohio. She joined Common Cause during the push to pass 2018’s anti-gerrymandering Issue 1, coordinating teams across Ohio to push for a “Yes” vote. She comes from an organizing and educational background, and is passionate about protecting and expanding the right to vote.
On July 3rd 2024, 731,306 petition signatures were turned in to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, for the Citizens Not Politicians constitutional amendment ballot initiative, where the signatures will be validated by the Ohio Secretary of State and Ohio boards of elections, in order to be placed on the November 5, 2024.
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