On Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, Ohio voted on this election’s Issue 1 which was meant to stop gerrymandering in Ohio. In the United States, gerrymandering is when a party manipulates the boundaries of a district to help its party succeed. Ohio is among the states that are heavily gerrymandered.
The language used when the issue was proposed was changed for the ballot. This translation was confusing to many uninformed voters, making it difficult to understand whether voting yes or no on this issue would get rid of gerrymandering. In addition, the language used on the ballot included many quotes from politicians who may be involved in the current gerrymandering process. The ballot also withheld crucial information for decision-making.
Another detail that influenced how people voted was the signage used to promote this issue. Due to the confusion caused by the issue wording, many individuals had specific signs in their yards. Some signs completely contradicted each other such as one sign that stated “Stop Gerrymandering: No on Issue 1.” or “Yes on Issue 1: Ban Gerrymandering in Ohio.” When in actuality if one was against gerrymandering they should have voted yes.
In an interview with politically active RHS Senior Luke Bronnert, he stated, “I think the language has to be precise and unintentionally confusing.” Those who worded the issue changed the initial wording of the issue to be more vague and less precise.
Bronnert also stated, “I think that the side that wanted to get passed should have had details about the issue.” The side that wanted the issue to pass could have promoted more about the issue than just gerrymandering. They could have also explained what gerrymandering is and its impact on our government.
Due to the many confusing details involved in the establishment of this issue, citizens who were going to vote a certain way thought they were voting for what they did not want. Everyone will just have to wait and see how the results of this issue will affect Ohio in the future.
