 Issue 1, redistricting reform for our United States congressional districts, will be on the May Ballot and has been endorsed by both the Ohio Democratic and Republican parties, Fair Districts = Fair Elections, Common Cause Ohio, and the League of Women Voters of Ohio.
We encourage you to YES on Issue 1.  You might recall from our last update on the fight against gerrymandering that The Ohio Attorney General has approved the ballot summary to put congressional redistricting reform on the ballot.
You might also recall that we now need to file a petition with 600,000 signatures from all over the state of Ohio. Interested in getting involved? Here's how you can help: Donate Did you know the petition signature collection phase of a campaign can cost up to $2-3 million? To kickstart the petition campaign, we need to raise $100,000 as quickly as possible. Your donation helps cover the cost of printing petitions and materials, distributing them around the state, and hiring a campaign manager to coordinate this massive statewide volunteer effort. You can donate online here or mail a check. Checks should be made payable to "Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio" and mailed to: Fair Congressional Districts for Ohio c/o League of Women Voters of Ohio 17 S. High St. Suite 650 Columbus, OH 43215 Volunteer to collect signatures You can sign up online to collect signatures and we’ll send you an email when petitions are available to pick up in your area. Do your petition training now Petitions are coming soon. Have you completed your petition training so that you can collect signatures? If not, you can now do your training online! Sign up here to register and view the training at your convenience. Want to do more? Tell your friends! Share this post with them and ask them to donate and volunteer.  We have good news from Mosie Welch, our Gerrymandering committee chair:
The Ohio Attorney General has approved the ballot summary to put congressional redistricting reform on the ballot. The next step is to gather signatures for the petition. The League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland is planning to gather 600,000 signatures in Ohio. See their website for more information about how you can help: http://lwvgreatercleveland.org/  A message from your Medina County Together Fair Districts Committee Chair, Mosie Welch I am committed to working for Fair Districts in Ohio – As a believer in democracy, I firmly believe that Americans and Ohio citizens must have their vote count in every election, every time. Gerrymandering reduces the impact of one person = one vote in Ohio and around the country. It affects democrats, republicans, and independents and is among the biggest problems in American elections today. Without change – our elected officials will become increasingly more extreme and elected official’s allegiance to their party will become stronger, while attention to constituent concerns diminishes. Medina County Together will be helping with collecting signatures for Fair Districts to get the redistricting proposal on the ballot in 2017. Want to be a part of making Fair Districts a reality in Ohio? Here's how: Sign up for email updates or get mobile updates by texting DISTRICT to 864237. Volunteer! Sign up for one of our many volunteer opportunities. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSee7D0vIkuVg2vXshfpC_4oZoNvuaRNMice25WB8rXJ-Ike9g/viewform?c=0&w=1 Please join with the Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition here in Ohio in getting the word out by liking and sharing information about redistricting in Ohio on twitter and facebook. Twitter @OhFairDistricts Facebook; Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition The following information is from www.fairdistricts.org. Feel free to the visit the website for even more information. Gerrymandering is an age old problem in politics where the legislative party in power draws the district lines in a way that favors their party; packing a district with the party voters as well as their donors and spreading out the district over a wide variety of media areas making it harder for the opposition to get their message out and raise money. Many times, people will not run because they don’t believe they can win, so the incumbent candidate is unchallenged. Find out more about gerrymandering here http://www.fairdistrictsohio.org/what-is-gerrymandering.html I’m in the party in power or an independent voter, why should I care? Gerrymandering takes away the one person = one vote deciding an election. Because districts are carved and packed to favor the party in power, there is more competition in the primary between the candidates for a party than there is in the final election between parties. Candidates are more responsive to their party than to their voters. More extreme candidates get elected. Ohio has some of the worst gerrymandered districts in the county. Find out more here http://www.fairdistrictsohio.org/ohios-gerrymandering-problem.html Who is Fair Districts = Fair Elections? “The Fair Districts = Fair Elections Coalition is committed to ending the hyperpartisan way in which congressional districts are manipulated by the political party in power. When in power, politicians from both major political parties have drawn the district lines to favor their own political party and rigged the districts creating uncompetitive elections or very "safe" seats for members of Congress. Fair elections are dependent upon fair districts. Mapmaking should focus on voters!” http://www.fairdistrictsohio.org/about.html |