Does Ohio Need Gerrymandering Reform?

With early voting already underway, Ohio voters are being asked to decide if a new approach to redrawing the state’s electoral districts is necessary. At stake is potentially nothing less than the future control of Ohio’s statewide legislative bodies.
The nonprofit Citizens Not Politicians asserts that Ohio’s current electoral districts are gerrymandered - or drawn unfairly to tilt the electoral playing field - and favors Republicans who currently control both the Ohio House and Senate, while Republican leaders have said no such unfairness exists and that the Democratic failure to secure more of Ohio’s legislative seats is simply an accurate reflection of voter preference.
If the proposed ballot initiative passes, control over drawing Ohio’s electoral districts will pass from politicians to a new 15-member nonpartisan board. Will the state’s voters agree that gerrymandering is an issue Ohio needs to solve with a fresh approach, or will the status quo win out?
With panelists on both sides of the issue, we unpack the future of Ohio’s legislative districts and the stark choice the state’s voters are facing.
Featuring:
Kareem Crayton, Vice President, The Brennan Center for Justice
Keith Faber, Ohio Auditor of State
Maureen O'Connor, Former Chief Justice, The Supreme Court of Ohio
Bradley Smith, The Josiah H. Blackmore II / Shirley M. Nault Professor of Law, Capital University
The moderator is Jessie Balmert, State Government Reporter, The Columbus Dispatch | Gannett | USA Today Network.
This forum is sponsored by The Charles F. Kettering Foundation, The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and The Ohio Debate Commission.
The forum partner is the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus.
The livestream presenting sponsor is The Center for Human Kindness at the Columbus Foundation.
The livestream and marketing partner is The Columbus Dispatch.
This forum is also supported by Vue Columbus.

[@wndii]

Is there any fact checking on Faber’s statement about funding being foreign?

[@prisonmemoirsOH]

Surprising arguements