Voters in Ohio will soon be given the opportunity to overhaul how the state draws its congressional and legislative maps. 

Citizens Not Politicians, the coalition of organizations behind the constitutional amendment, sent Secretary of State Frank LaRose more than 700,000 signatures earlier this month, and LaRose certified 535,000 signatures last week. The existing maps, enacted in 2020, were drawn by a Republican-led commission of elected officials and have been repeatedly found unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court.

“This certification is a historic step towards restoring fairness in Ohio’s electoral process,” retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said in a statement. 

“With this amendment on the ballot, Ohioans have the chance to reclaim their power from the self-serving politicians who want to stay in power long past their expiration date,” the statement continued.

The Ohio Redistricting Commission is made up of seven spots, two of which always go to Republicans and two always go to Democrats. The three remaining seats include the governor, the secretary of state, and the auditor, who are all presently Republicans.

If approved, the constitutional amendment would overhaul the Ohio Redistricting Commission and create a 15-member citizen commission. Current politicians, registered lobbyists, and large political donors would be prohibited from joining the commission.

Republicans in the state now hold around 70% of all legislative seats, but they only received about 56% of the statewide vote in recent election cycles, according to Axios.

“It was such an incredible feeling to know that we made the ballot,” Jen Miller from the League of Women Voters, which is a part of Citizens Not Politicians, said. “This is about the everyday people of Ohio taking power back.”

“When politicians and lobbyists get to rig maps, it harms every Ohio voter and our democracy,” she added.

​CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

This is the only statewide ballot initiative on the Ohio ballot this election. Republican state Senate President Matt Huffman has been a vocal critic of the proposal.

“I think that the people who are making an important decision like this ought to be elected officials who are accountable to the public, not unknown bureaucrats somewhere, someplace,” Huffman told ABC 5 Cleveland.

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This weekend was the last recruiting time before a dead period, and Ohio State football didn’t host a gathering like many other schools did.

That opened up the time for some Buckeye 2025 commits to visit other schools, and defensive end commit, Zion Grady, was one of them. The nation’s No. 80 overall player according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings took a trip to Auburn on Saturday.

Rivals reporter Bryan Matthews wrote a story claiming that he felt like the Tigers “have a good chance” to flip the 6-foot, 4-inch, 235-pound star.

As Lee Corso famously says, “not so fast my friends,” as Grady quoted the story and claimed that he’s “1000% lock-in.”

If I had to guess the reason for the trip was an accompany one his best friends, 2025 Auburn commit Malik Autry. Ohio State is actively trying to flip the defensive tackle, and Grady is just trying to help those efforts.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X. 

Story originally appeared on Buckeye Wire