Two questions bubbled up in some corners of Ohio after the failure in the November election to put citizens, not politicians, in charge of drawing district lines. First, would adding more legislators solve gerrymandering? And second, is amending the constitution the best way for citizens to enact new laws?
Republican State Sen. Bill Blessing has come forward with two separate ideas. The first is to add more districts and more lawmakers. The Ohio Statehouse, like Congress, has a set number of seats, and that number doesn’t change despite the population. Could adding more lawmakers give the people a stronger voice?
The second idea is to strengthen the power of citizen-led initiated statutes. Blessing’s resolution would require less signature gathering to get a proposed law on the ballot. If the initiated statute passes, lawmakers wouldn't be able to change or repeal it for two years, unless three-fifths of legislators and the governor agree.
But this week, a bill that would stall citizen-led ballot issues is being fast-tracked through the lame duck session. Under the proposal, the attorney general could refuse to approve titles of petitions and summaries for citizen-led referendums, and could delay getting issues before voters.
On Cincinnati Edition, we’ll discuss Sen. Blessing’s resolutions on initiated statutes and expanding the legislature and whether there is an appetite for these changes.
Guests:
- Bill Blessing, Ohio State Senator, Republican, Cincinnati
- David Niven, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, University of Cincinnati
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