TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost asked the Ohio Supreme Court Tuesday to throw out a filing by two members of the Ballot Board, who re-filed in opposition to the ballot summary to be used on a redistricting amendment this November, after a board majority had voted in support of it.
The vote pertained to a political mapmaking amendment - against a practice commonly called gerrymandering - that Ohio voters will decide on this November. If passed, it would remove politicians from the mapmaking in favor of a citizen commission.
While it will appear on ballots as Issue 1, the group behind the proposed amendment, Citizens Not Politicians, claims the summary language written by Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose was biased and misleading, and "would have voters believe exactly the opposite."
Citizens Not Politicians has filed a lawsuit objecting to the ballot summary.
The Ballot Board voted 3-2 on Aug. 16 to approve the language of the summary, with Ohio state Senator Paula Hicks-Hudson and state Representative Terrence Upchurch voting against the language. Both Hicks-Hudson and Upchurch have filed their own response to the lawsuit.
As the Ohio Attorney General's Office represents the Ballot Board in their defense against Citizens Not Politicians' lawsuit, Yost said the filing is in direct conflict with the state's legal defense.
Yost also claimed losing members of a vote are not entitled to re-litigation, calling the filing "rogue" in the press release. He appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court, asking them to throw out the filing.
EARLIER COVERAGE: Backers of Ohio redistricting measure vow lawsuit over ballot language they call 'deceitful'
“If the losing members of a voting board can re-litigate their loss in court, we don’t have a democracy, we have government by judiciary,” Yost said in the release. “A multi-member body speaks through its majority vote.”
Yost added, "Such a policy would destroy democratic institutions and the separation of powers by substituting the judiciary for all forms of government. This must not stand."
If passed in November, Issue 1 would replace the current Ohio Redistricting Commission made up of seven politicians, including LaRose, with a 15-member citizens commission made up of Republicans, Democrats, and independents.
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