Ohio
Who is funding Ohio’s redistricting amendment?
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:
- Washington, D.C.: $11.1 million
- Ohio: $3.6 million
- Virginia: $3.4 million
- California: $2.1 million
- New York: $1.6 million
- 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.