Citizens Not Politicians, a group seeking to change the way Ohio draws its congressional and legislative maps, sent 700,000 signatures to the Secretary of State on Monday.

The group is looking to overhaul the current Ohio Redistricting Commission, which is made up of three statewide officeholders and four state lawmakers, with an independent body with diversified political beliefs. Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose will work with local election boards to determine that at least 413,446 signatures are valid in order to place the measure on the election ballot this November.

“It’s just a great day for Ohio and Ohio’s democracy,” Jen Miller, director of the League of Women Voters, said. “Citizens across the state came together to make sure we could get on the ballot this fall and finally end gerrymandering.”

“Citizens Not Politicians wants to replace the current method of drawing congressional and legislative districts, which relies on politicians holding the mapmaking pen, with a 15-member citizen panel. Five Democrats, five Republicans, and five independents would comprise the new Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission,” a recent press release from the group states.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The effort to get on the ballot has previously been delayed. Dave Yost, the state’s Republican attorney general, challenged the language of the petition twice. This resulted in the group being forced to resubmit their petitions due to a single-digit typo on one date, even after the Ohio Ballot Board unanimously cleared the measure in October 2023. 

The existing Ohio Redistricting Commission has repeatedly failed to produce constitutional maps that are not gerrymandered. In 2020, challenges to new maps resulted in two sets of congressional maps and five sets of Statehouse maps being rejected as unconstitutionally gerrymandered.