Antonio Applauds Ballot Board Certification of Citizen-Led Redistricting Initiative

Today, Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) issued the following statement after the Ohio Ballot Board voted to certify the citizen-led redistricting commission constitutional amendment as a single proposal. 

“I applaud the Ohio Ballot Board for approving this measure and allowing for the signature-gathering process to proceed,” said Antonio. “Removing elected officials from the process to draw our legislative and congressional lines is the only way forward. This will ensure fair maps that are drawn by the people of Ohio, not the politicians. We need a process that includes Ohioans who do not have a vested interest in the outcome of redistricting.”

The Ohio Ballot Board is responsible for certifying ballot language for any proposed constitutional amendments. Once the Ohio Attorney General’s office certifies that the language of a proposed amendment is “fair and truthful,” the Ballot Board must certify an initiative contains only one proposal before going on the ballot. After the language is certified as one proposal by the Ballot Board, citizens can begin collecting signatures to place the amendment on the ballot.