Legislature is holding up redistricting

Readers elated that the legislature has formed a committee to address congressional redistricting should consider this: In 2015, Ohioans sent a clear message that they wanted to end gerrymandering. Yet, the legislature failed to address redistricting until October 2017 when Ohioans had obtained half of the signatures necessary to place an initiative on the ballot to address it with a procedure similar to that enacted for the Statehouse — a bipartisan committee with certain restrictions on how to draw the lines. Coincidence?

Then on the very day the second public hearing was scheduled, on Nov. 1, House Resolution 5 was introduced. This resolution, if passed would be retroactive, would increase the number of signatures necessary for a citizen/ voter initiative to 12 percent rather than the 10 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election and to pass, the initiative would need 60 percent rather than the majority of votes cast. Coincidence?

Ohioans made it clear in 2015 that they wanted a bipartisan committee to draw the district lines. So why is it hard for the legislature to address congressional redistricting?

It seems that our “representatives” have forgotten their responsibilities to us as they continue to dilute our vote through gerrymandering and attempt to silence our voices with legislation. Delaware