COLUMBUS, Ohio — Backers of a proposal to change Ohio’s troubled political mapmaking system delivered hundreds of thousands of signatures on Monday as they work to qualify for the statewide ballot this fall.

Citizens Not Politicians dropped off more than 700,000 petition signatures to Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office in downtown Columbus, according to Jen Miller, director of League of Women Voters. LaRose now will work with local election boards to determine that at least 413,446 signatures are valid, which would get the proposal onto the Nov. 5 ballot.

The group’s amendment aims to replace the current Ohio Redistricting Commission, made up of three statewide officeholders and four state lawmakers, with an independent body selected directly by citizens. The new panel’s members would be diversified by party affiliation and geography.

Their effort to make the ballot was plagued by early delays. Republican Attorney General Dave Yost raised two rounds of objections to their petition language before the wording was initially certified. Then, after the Ohio Ballot Board unanimously cleared the measure in October 2023, organizers were forced to resubmit their petitions due to a single-digit typo in a date.

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

The effort follows the existing structure’s repeated failure to produce constitutional maps. During the protracted process for redrawing district boundaries to account for the results of the 2020 Census, challenges filed in court resulted in two congressional maps and five sets of Statehouse maps being rejected as unconstitutionally gerrymandered.

A month after the ballot campaign was announced, the bipartisan Ohio Redistricting Commission voted unanimously to approve new Statehouse maps, with minority Democrats conceding to “better, fairer” maps that nonetheless continued to deliver the state’s ruling Republicans a robust political advantage.

That same September, congressional district maps favoring Republicans were put in place, too, after the Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a group of legal challenges at the request of the voting rights groups that had brought them. The groups told the court that continuing to pursue the lawsuits against the GOP-drawn maps brought turmoil not in the best interests of Ohio voters.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have landed four-star recruit Dorian Jones, a source told 247 Sports.

Jones will be staying local with his decision to join the Buckeyes.

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard played his high-school basketball at Richmond Heights and was the No. 2-ranked player in Ohio.

“They were the first program to start recruiting me when I was a freshman,” Jones recently said of Ohio State. “They have been there since day one. They talk about building their program around me.”

Jones also had offers from the likes of Syracuse, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois and Michigan, but ultimately chose to stay home.

The Buckeyes are trying to recover after missing the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years.

Ohio State got off to a 14-11 start this past season, resulting in the firing of head coach Chris Holtmann. Jake Diebler took the reins the rest of the way and went a respectable 8-3.

It certainly represented a better campaign for the Buckeyes than 2022-23, when they went just 16-19. That marks Ohio State’s only losing record since going 14-16 in 2003-04.

Since 2006, the Buckeyes have made the Big Dance 13 times, with their deepest run coming in 2011-12 when Jared Sullinger led the squad all the way to the Final Four before losing to Kansas.

Ohio State has not made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament in any of its last four appearances.

We’ll see if Jones and a potentially tantalizing recruiting class overall can help bring Buckeyes basketball back to prominence.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are still hoping to gain a commitment from a key pass-rusher target in the 2025 recruiting class.

While the Buckeyes have already earned the No. 1 ranking by many for their 2025 class, they are still looking to get better. Damien Shanklin is a name that they are still waiting to get a decision from.

Shanklin has now announced when he will announce his commitment.

Ohio State will not have to wait much longer. Shanklin has stated that he will be making his commitment announcement on July 5th.

Standing in at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, the four-star edge rusher from Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana has tremendous potential. He could end up developing into a legitimate NFL talent if he reaches his ceiling.

While the Buckeyes feel that they have a good shot at landing a commitment from Shanklin and are in his top three final schools, the other two schools involved are massive threats.

He is considering offers from both Alabama and LSU. Shanklin is picking from three legitimate teams that could offer him a chance to compete for a National Championship and give him a good chance to develop into an NFL talent.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what decisions Shanklin makes. He would be a great addition to the Ohio State recruiting class.

Make sure to stay tuned on July 5th at 5:30 p.m. EST. All Buckeyes fans are going to be waiting anxiously to see what the young pass-rusher decides.