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Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted
Bi-Partisan
redistricting reform
COLUMBUS – Regarding today’s action on a bipartisan legislative
redistricting reform proposal, all of the following may be attributed
to Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted:
“This is great news for the people of Ohio.
“Legislative elections will be more competitive and the elected
representatives more accountable to those they serve. The voice of the
average voter got stronger today.
“I encourage Ohio voters to vote in favor of this proposal when it
comes to the ballot.
“For those of us who have worked for years to reform the system, this
is a special day. I congratulate the House and Senate members and
leaders for their work on this issue.”
Details from the Cleveland Plain Dealer…
Bipartisan redistricting reform passes Senate in historic vote
By Jackie Borchardt, Northeast Ohio Media Group
December 12, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio General Assembly made history early Friday
morning when the Senate passed a House-backed, bipartisan redistricting
reform plan before adjourning for the session.
State lawmakers have debated how to change to Ohio's process for
drawing legislative and congressional districts since 1978 but have
never come to an agreement to improve a system they and critics agree
is flawed and hyper partisan.
The Senate voted 28-1 just after 4 a.m. to accept an amended bipartisan
plan to draw legislative districts passed by the House last week, with
Republican Sen. Bill Seitz of Cincinnati voting no. House Joint
Resolution 12 now goes to the House for final approval, which is
expected next week. If approved, the plan would go before voters in
November 2015 for approval to be added to the Ohio Constitution.
Previous stories
Friday's vote followed days of discussion behind closed doors with few
signs a compromise would be reached before the Senate adjourned this
week. The Senate recessed from the last planned session at 8:30 p.m. so
members could caucus with their parties and redistricting language
could be drafted. An agreement was reached shortly after 1:30 a.m.
Friday.
Senate President Keith Faber announced the deal in a 2:15 a.m. press
conference alongside his Democratic counterpart Sen. Joe Schiavoni of
Boardman and Reps. Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, and Vernon Sykes,
an Akron Democrat -- the two co-sponsors of the House resolution.
"This was not easy, but I think in the long run this will be good for
Ohio," Faber, a Celina Republican, said before the vote. "This is
something I think everybody who was involved with can be proud of
because we had a lot of give and take...
Read the rest of the article at Cleveland Plain Dealer
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