On this July Fourth, it is worth celebrating a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, lifting the smoke screen laid by John Boehner to stall action on plans to draw fair, competitive U.S. House districts in Ohio. The court upheld the right of Arizona voters to create an independent commission to draw U.S. House districts. It turned back a challenge from the Republican-dominated Arizona legislature, which wanted to regain control.
As House speaker, Boehner used his influence to cloud discussion in the Ohio legislature, also dominated by Republicans. The expressed concern was that the state should not move forward until the Arizona case was resolved. Actually, what is under discussion here would leave the legislature with a dominant role in the redistricting process, the parallel to Arizona a stretch, at best.
When the Arizona legislature sued, it took a narrow reading of the U.S. Constitution, which states that the “times, places and manner” of holding congressional elections “shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.”
What the lawsuit failed to consider was that Arizona voters, in initiating a constitutional amendment, were acting in place of the legislature. In a 5-4 decision, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg found the U.S. Constitution’s reference to the “legislature” included ballot measures such as the one Arizona voters passed in 2000 to create an independent commission.
It now is time for the Ohio legislature to repair how U.S. House districts are drawn here, using as its model a proposed constitutional amendment on state legislative districts that it has placed on the November ballot. Instead of state lawmakers drawing new U.S. House districts after each census, the job would go to the same commission that would be created for state legislative districts.
The seven-member body would be composed of the governor, auditor and secretary of state, plus four legislators, two from the minority party. With incentives to encourage bipartisan action and rules to minimize the splitting of communities, the state’s U.S. House districts would come into better balance.
As matters stand, districts created by the Republican-led legislature do not reflect the real balance of power between Republicans and Democrats. In a state where Barack Obama won twice, and which elected Sherrod Brown to the U.S. Senate, Republicans control 12 of 16 U.S. House seats. Without sufficient competition, extreme views easily can take hold.
In the state Senate, Frank LaRose, a Copley Township Republican, and Tom Sawyer, an Akron Democrat, have long worked on redistricting reform and are ready to introduce an amendment for U.S. House districts that would mirror the bipartisan plan for legislative districts. In the House, a similar idea has been introduced by two Democrats, Mike Curtin of Marble Cliff and Kathleen Clyde of Kent.
With lawmakers on summer break, action by the August deadline for placing another constitutional amendment on the fall ballot is unlikely. But once back in session, the legislature should make sure an amendment on U.S. House districts gets on the ballot next year. If lawmakers fail to act promptly, voter advocates should take charge with a petition drive.
Via: Ohio.com
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