Nuts and Bolts
There is nothing so “nuts and bolts” in politics than setting up political districts. What used to be a “gift”, knowing which areas voted one party or the other, is now an analytical science. In the old days it was “institutional knowledge”, the old “pols” could tell you how this street or that block voted. Now it is simple plusses and minuses in a digital world. Computer programs have sliced and diced our nation into almost pre-ordained chunks of votes. Ohio is a classic example.
Look, everyone knows that the cities of Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, Akron and Toledo are going to trend significantly Democratic. And we know that the glorious fields of corn and soybeans spread between those cities are going to be significantly Republican. That’s not “advanced political thought”. Really, it’s just common sense.
So we used to make political districts just like we used to make apple pie. Sure, there’s apples and there’s crust. But what went into the apples and the crust; all of the small additions that Grandma used to put in, that’s where the real differences were made. But today, you plug the apple, cinnamon, sugar, flour, butter all into a computer, which will then “put out” the “perfect pie”. And you can tell the computer what “perfecter” you want: more apple, cinnamon, or butter. The computer varies the outcome to give you the exactly the pie you want.
Gerrymandering
And we used to cut that pie in fairly normal slices, keeping pieces in regular shapes and sizes. Occasionally a piece of apple filling might slip into another piece, but generally our districts were recognizable geographic areas. Today, in our computer driven political world, a “piece” of the pie might stretch in a narrow strip from one side to the other, carefully avoiding other sections. It might look like a snake, or a duck, or, as it did in 1812 in Massachusetts, a salamander. Since that “salamander” was crafted by then-Governor Elbridge Gerry, it became known as a “Gerrymander”, the term we use for pre-ordained districts today.
So who controls the “pie” here in Ohio? It’s a committee: the Governor, the State Auditor, the Secretary of State, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader, and the Senate and House Minority Leaders. The “Commission” was created by a popularly voted Constitutional Amendment (2015), designed to end partisan gerrymandering, and make “fair” districts.
Here’s the problem: put five Republicans and two Democrats in a room, and tell them to divide the state fairly. Right — that works about as well as you think it does.
Ah, but the outcome has to be approved by the Ohio Supreme Court. Surely the highest Court in the state would be impartial, sticking to the spirit of non-partisanship shown in the 2015 Amendment process. There are seven members of the Court, six are Republicans, one a Democrat. One is the son of the serving Governor, another is the son’s best friend. So, not surprisingly, the Court finds a way to “allow” the Republican plan to become Ohio law. It’s an all “Red” Ohio Apple pie.
Numbers
Here’s the numbers. In the 2024 Presidential election, over 70% of Ohioans came out to vote. 55% voted for Donald Trump, 43% voted for Kamala Harris. It was a clear Republican win, especially in a state that only twelve years before voted 51% for Barack Obama to 47% for Mitt Romney. So let’s give Ohio Republicans their due: Ohio is at best a 55-45 Republican state, very “Red”.
In the United States Congress, Ohio has fifteen representatives: ten Republicans, and five Democrats. While we may vote 55-45, in Congress we are 66% Republican. In the State House of Representatives, there are 65 Republicans to 34 Democrats, again 66% Republican. And in the State Senate, Ohio has 24 Republicans to 9 Democrats, over 70% Republican. In the state legislature that 66% number is very important. It gives them a built-in ability to override the Governor, even a Republican Governor, who might veto an extremist Republican bill.
Ohio remains Republican. A Democrat in Ohio is voting in pre-determined political districts. When I cast my ballot for a Democratic state representative, Senator, or US Congressman, I know my vote is cast in vain. My legislative districts are carefully drawn to guarantee that the Republican wins. The current Gerrymandering, now on computer driven steroids, is able to split my county, even my little city, in order to dilute my vote, and amplify my Republican neighbor’s.
Choosing Voters
In the old days, before the computerized “Red Map Plan”, districts chose their representatives. (Thanks a lot, MSNBC commentator Michael Steele, former Republican National Chairman). Sure, Democratic areas voted for Democrats, and Republicans areas chose Republicans. But today, the legislators can plug their proposed districts in a computer program, and slice and dice communities to get the electorate they want. Voters don’t chose candidates; candidates chose their voters.
And that “ass backwards” approach guarantees not just Republican control, but Republicans that find it totally unnecessary to even negotiate with their Democratic colleagues. In fact, it encourages extremism, because the “real contests” aren’t in the general election. The determining election is the primary, between Republicans, where the votes are dominated by the extremists in the Party. So when a state legislator proposes a law to ban humans from marrying Artificial Intelligence computers, or pre-determines for high school students that a “successful life” requires jobs, marriage, then family (not making that up), both have a great opportunity to become our laws.
And, for my Democratic friends: it all sounds like doom and gloom – time to move out of state. There is one ray of sunshine. Neither political party can Gerrymander the entire state. On the re-districting commission, there are three seats elected statewide. Change the Governor, Auditor and Secretary of State, and Democrats can literally change our world. Oh, and changing the Ohio Supreme Court (also statewide election) would help too.
