COLUMBUS, Ohio — The campaign aiming to end gerrymandering in Ohio has raised more than $23 million, according to a newly released campaign finance disclosure form. That money mainly came from groups outside of Ohio.

Cash continues to pour in to support a proposal on the November ballot. Ohio voters will decide how the state draws district maps.

Citizens Not Politicians collected enough signatures to get their amendment on the ballot, one that spokesperson Chris Davey said is meant to stop partisan gerrymandering.

“Democrats, Republicans — politicians — for years, have been rigging the game in Ohio,” Davey said. “This is a nonpartisan issue.”

Click here to read more about the fight for redistricting reform.

Currently, Ohio lawmakers draw the maps — ones that directly impact them and their colleagues.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission (ORC) is made up of seven spots. Two will always go to Republicans and two to Democrats in the Statehouse. The three remaining seats include the governor, secretary of state and auditor.

This led to the Ohio Redistricting Mess of 2022, where a bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court struck down seven different passed maps, citing that the GOP members of the commission were drawing lines to unfairly benefit their party.

The proposal creates the 15-member Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (OCRC), made up of Republican, Democratic and independent citizens who broadly represent the different geographic areas and demographics of the state.

It bans current or former politicians, political party officials, lobbyists and large political donors from sitting on the commission.

It requires fair and impartial districts by making it unconstitutional to draw voting districts that discriminate against or favor any political party or individual politician. It also mandates the commission to operate under an open and independent process.

A newly released campaign finance report proves that people around the state and country are backing the change.

“Our support is coming from a broad coalition of Republicans, independents and Democrats who want to get the politicians out of the process because they’ve demonstrated repeatedly that they are either unwilling or unable to pass fair maps,” Davey said.

CNP raised more than $23 million since the beginning of 2024.

Gov. Mike DeWine, who is opposing the amendment, warned that this isn’t the grassroots movement Davey is portraying.

“Voters ought to know that this is being funded by people outside Ohio, primarily,” DeWine said.

DeWine is adamantly opposed to the anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment that will be on the November ballot, saying he plans to create another proposal that voters should “trust.” It is worth noting that DeWine and his colleagues have nothing to gain and power to lose if CNP is successful.

Gov. DeWine says he opposes anti-gerrymandering proposal on November ballot, wants to put forth new proposal

Gov. DeWine says he opposes anti-gerrymandering proposal on November ballot, wants to put forth new proposal

Breakdown

Of the $23 million raised, 85% has come from out of state.

Below are the states (including D.C.) that provided at least a million:

1. Washington, D.C.: $11.1 million
2. Ohio: $3.6 million
3. Virginia: $3.4 million
4. California: $2.1 million
5. New York: $1.6 million
6. Massachusetts: $1 million

Numbers are rounded.

The largest contributors of money are progressive or nonpartisan groups in the Washington, D.C. area, funding about 60% of the campaign so far. The Virginia donations came from Arlington, which can be referred to as the D.C. area.

The Sixteen Thirty Fund has given the largest chunk of money — $6 million.

Groups make up 98% of the funding, while 2% comes from individual donors. To be clear, individual donors donate to the larger groups.

Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said that people should question why funders from the “so-called” anti-gerrymandering are mainly liberal groups.

“They’re not interested in moderate Republicans or conservative Democrats,” Huffman said back in March. “They’re interested in making sure their far-left agenda gets passed.”

It’s hypocritical for lawmakers to criticize the acceptance of out-of-state money since each side of the past several proposals was all primarily funded by non-Ohio groups, Davey argued.

In August of 2023, the GOP-backed amendment to make it more difficult to change the Ohio Constitution, which failed spectacularly, raised $4.8 million. An Illinois billionaire donated $4 million, which is 83%.

Election to stop out-of-state special interests funded by out-of-state special interests

In November of 2023, the GOP-backed campaign to stop abortion from being enshrined into the Constitution was also primarily funded by out-of-state groups.

Supporters of Ohio abortion rights amendment far outraising opponents

“If you look at the people and organizations who have supported us financially, it’s diverse,” he said. “It includes people all across the political spectrum because this is not red vs blue, it’s not Republican vs Democrat.”

Of the nearly 800 donors, the majority gave between $5 and $25, my analysis found. The most common amount to donate was $6.20. Of the individual contributions, the majority came from Ohioans.

CNP has spent millions on digital and TV ads, which should be hitting the airwaves soon, Davey said.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s historical society announced a deal Thursday that will allow it to take control of an ancient ceremonial and burial earthworks site long located on the site of a golf course.

Ohio History Connection will pay Moundbuilders Country Club in Newark to buy out its lease and end the long-running legal dispute over the Octagon Earthworks, although the sum is confidential under a settlement agreement. The deal avoids a jury trial to determine the site’s fair market value that had been repeatedly postponed over the years.

The Octagon Earthworks are among eight ancient areas in the Hopewell Earthworks system that were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site last year. The historical society, a nonprofit state history organization, takes control of them Jan. 1 and plans to open them to visitors.

“Our guiding principles throughout this process have been to enable full public access to the Octagon Earthworks while ensuring Moundbuilders Country Club receives just compensation for the value of its lease on the property,” said Megan Wood, executive director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection. “And now we have accomplished those things.”

Charles Moses, president of the organization’s board of trustees, said the History Connection is excited for the location to be “fully open to the citizens of Ohio — and the world.”

Built between 2,000 and 1,600 years ago by people from the Hopewell Culture, the earthworks were host to ceremonies that drew people from across the continent, based on archeological discoveries of raw materials from as far west as the Rocky Mountains.

Native Americans constructed the earthworks, including eight long earthen walls, that correspond to lunar movements and align with points where the moon rises and sets over the 18.6-year lunar cycle. The History Connection calls them “part cathedral, part cemetery and part astronomical observatory.”

The historical society owns the disputed earthworks site, but it had been leased to the country club for decades. History Connection had put the value of the site at about $2 million, while the country club was seeking a much higher amount.

In 1892, voters in surrounding Licking County enacted a tax increase to preserve what was left of the earthworks. The area was developed as a golf course in 1911, and the state first deeded the 134-acre property to Moundbuilders Country Club in 1933.

A county judge ruled in 2019 that the historical society could reclaim the lease via eminent domain. But the club challenged the attempt to take the property, saying the History Connection didn’t make a good faith offer to purchase the property as required by state law. The country club argued that it had provided proper upkeep of the mound and allowed public access over the years — albeit only a few days a year.

A message was left with the country club’s board president seeking comment.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Get fired up for a huge weekend of major events across Northeast Ohio. In addition to one of the four largest spectacles in professional wrestling’s yearly calendar taking place in Cleveland, the NFL’s Hall of Fame induction ceremonies culminate down in Canton.

There’s plenty of other things to do as well including local county fairs, a major local comic book convention, festivals, concerts and more. Here’s our curated list of more than 30 things taking place across Northeast Ohio this weekend and beyond.