Comments on: Ohio Democrats Fighting to Change Election Process

By: A Face Made 4 Radio, A Voice Made 4 the Internet

A Face Made 4 Radio, A Voice Made 4 the Internet — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 16:44:28 +0000

Even the NY Times Gets It

This time, it is The Times that admits that the left-wing groups that are trying to change the Ohio election process are partisan hacks

By: mark

mark — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 02:40:36 +0000

Democrats, I have some cheese to go along with your WHINE

Aww, poor Republicans, scared of a fair fight. Always have to rig the system. Sheesh.

By: Herb

Herb — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 21:47:04 +0000

Democrats, I have some cheese to go along with your WHINE.

Or, do you need a diaper change? is that why you are crying ?

By: one bit shy

one bit shy — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 18:43:54 +0000

Perhaps I misunderstand, but I thought both the Ohio and California initiatives applied to state legislative districts as well as Congressional - and that it was really the state districting that was the political driver.

By: NIF

NIF — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 18:04:59 +0000

The Opposite of Sleeping In

Today's dose of NIF - News, Interesting & Funny ... halfway there!

By: paladin

paladin — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 17:25:17 +0000

As a resident of Illinois (will the NCAA or the PC police make us change the name of our state?) in order to change the way districts are divided requires 3/5 of the Legislature to agree to propose a Constitutional amendment to be submitted to voters. As it stands Democrats control all three branches of government, and most are from the Chicago area. Snowball's chance comes to mind here. But we need change.The Economist wrote about my congressional district and said "In a normal democracy, voters choose their representatives. In America, it is rapidly becoming the other around." Also in the Economist: "Weirdly shaped districts like (this) are signs that a crime has been committed."My Congressional representative is in the advanced stages of Parkinsons. He can barely communicate, yet we keep returning him to DC, where I'm sure his unelected aides do the work he was elected to do. It just makes me crazy!

By: Don Singleton

Don Singleton — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 16:42:45 +0000

Change Election Process

District boundaries should be drawn by a computer, that has no idea of how many Democratic or Republican voters there are in a particular area, but where it just tries to draw compact districts with major streets and other geographical features as bo...

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 16:34:18 +0000

Iron: Are you saying the NYT article is wrong?

Critics of the Republican grip on Ohio politics filed petitions on Tuesday that seek a statewide vote on three constitutional amendments that would overturn the way elections are run and strip elected officials of their power to draw legislative districts.

This is not coming from the legislature but rather a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution. And unless Ohio's constitution is quite unusual, a simple vote from the legislature can not overturn it.

By: Iron Lungfish

Iron Lungfish — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 16:19:53 +0000

The bill is coming from the state legislature; thus, the state legislature is still the one setting "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives," and could in theory pass another bill down the line restoring its power to gerrymander districts as much as it wants to. This is perfectly constitutional.

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 15:48:53 +0000

It is my understanding that the "independent" panel that would be put in place would just happen to end up with 2 Democrats and 1 Republican member.