Philip Derrow, a New Albany resident, is a retired entrepreneur. He served two terms on the New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education. He is a regular contributor to the Columbus Dispatch.
The Ohio Constitution is a bloated monster. The passage of Issue 1 in November will only make it more bloated — and, ironically, less constitutional.
Issue 1 is a proposed amendment to the Ohio Constitution that purports to solve the problem of gerrymandering: the manipulation of electoral districts in favor of certain candidates or political parties.
According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, a constitution is “the basic principles and laws of a nation, state,… determining the powers and duties of government and guaranteeing certain rights to the people therein.”
At 7,591 words, the U.S. Constitution, including all 27 amendments, is an excellent model. Children in fifth grade can read and understand it.
Ohio’s text is nine times longer, now containing more than 67,000 words of legislative language that even lawyers find difficult to follow.
Ohio GOP Goes Too Far: Why Gov. Mike DeWine is Wrong Again About Gerrymandering
While Issue 1 will replace a few thousand words, it will add over 7,000 new words. It is 17 pages long. Read the language yourself, if you can spare 20-30 minutes. Few will. I never vote on issues that I have not read and understood myself.
Worse, Issue 1 is downright anti-democratic and elitist.
Of course, that is not what the proponents claim, especially with their populist-sounding slogan of the “Citizens Not Politicians Amendment.”
And that’s just part of why it’s such bad policy for Ohio.
Gerrymandering is not a new issue. I learned about it in grade school 50 years ago, and it has been a thing since our country was founded. It is not going away. When it comes to political cartography, the only relevant question is who decides.
I think it should be the people, through their elected representatives.
Leave the redrawing of constituencies to the people’s vote
Proponents of point 1 believe that it should be a handful of unelected and unaccountable retired judges, career bureaucrats, a “professional recruitment agency,” and appointed “special masters” in case the inevitable lawsuit occurs.
Special masters? Really?
Didn’t our nation’s founders declare independence from the unelected special masters of the King of England?
Most of the recent comments from Issue 1 proponents came from people complaining about the language used to present the issue to Ohio voters when they cast their ballots.
This language is determined by the Ohio Ballot Board, a bipartisan commission chaired by Ohio Secretary of State, current Republican Frank LaRose.
The length and complexity of Issue 1 is why a lengthy summary for voters was necessary. While it is true that the language was approved by a 3-2 party-line vote, it is also true that the language they chose is accurate. Issue 1 supporters simply do not like that LaRose has pulled back the curtain to hide their unholy creation.
Number 1 shall repeal existing constitutional protections against gerrymandering that voters approved in 2015 and 2018 and shall replace it with an elitist, anti-democratic, costly and unnecessarily complex “Rube Goldberg” process.
Number 1 shall enshrine partisan district redistricting in the Ohio Constitution and shall repeal current requirements for compact legislative and congressional districts that best serve voters with similar needs.
Complex text is not suitable for Ohio residents
Even with all these shortcomings masquerading as benefits, cloaked in the mantra “Citizens, not politicians,” the worst thing about Issue 1 is that it doesn’t belong in the Ohio Constitution in the first place.
Issue 1 is not about basic principles and laws or protecting citizens’ rights. The long and complicated text should have been worked out earlier in the legislative process, but proponents know that their ill-conceived plan would fail there.
Instead, Issue 1 is about the impatience and elitism of its creators, who neither trust nor like the voters they elect as their representatives. Of course, supporters won’t admit that, so they’ll feign outrage that an elected official — whom they also don’t like — revealed the truth.
The redistricting process is inherently political and therefore belongs to the people through their representatives. Removing those accountable to voters does not make it less political; it only makes it less accountable.
I can understand the desire of those who want to find a solution to the gross partisanship that only seems to get worse with each election cycle. Yet they are deeply misinformed about history and human nature to think that an elitist and undemocratic behemoth like Issue 1 is the answer.
Monsters have a nasty habit of turning on their creators. Issue 1 is a constitutional Frankenstein voters would be wise to avoid.
Philip Derrow, a New Albany resident, is a retired entrepreneur. He served two terms on the New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education. He is a regular contributor to the Columbus Dispatch.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Issue 1 Will Enshrine Gerrymandering in Ohio Constitution | Derrow
