Ohio Issue 1: Can police, veterans serve on proposed redistricting commission?

If Ohio Issue 1 passes, who can join the 15-member citizen commission to draw state legislative and congressional maps?

Proponents and opponents of the proposed constitutional amendment disagree on whether police officers, firefighters and military veterans could join the commission. Our statehouse bureau asked Ohio law professors about what might happen.

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What Issue 1 opponents say

Opponents of Ohio Issue 1 say police officers, firefighters and military members would be excluded from the new Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission because those jobs are appointed by elected officials, whether that be the American president or the local mayor.

"Michigan specifically made it clear that police officers and military officers are not excluded, and their families," Ohio Auditor Keith Faber said at a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum. "This (Ohio) language doesn't include that clarification and therefore it's very likely that military members and their families are going to be excluded from serving on this."

What Ohio Issue 1 says

The proposed constitutional amendment reads: "The following persons shall be ineligible to serve on the commission, on the bipartisan screening panel, as a special master, or as staff, a professional, or a consultant to the commission:

(1) Current elected or appointive officials to federal, state, or local office and their immediate family members;

(2) Persons who have served in any federal, state, or local elective or appointive office in Ohio for any period during the current year and immediately preceding six years and their immediate family members."

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What Issue 1 proponents say

Proponents of Ohio Issue 1 say police officers, firefighters and military members could serve on the 15-member citizen commission.

"The language of this amendment does not exclude those people," retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor said at the forum. "That is an argument that is designed to confuse the voters, and I will tell you right now, that is not true."

The proposed amendment prohibits people appointed to public office from serving on the commission. For example, if Ohio Sen. JD Vance becomes vice president and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appoints Vance's Senate replacement, that individual couldn't serve on the citizen redistricting commission.

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What Ohio law professors say

If Ohio Issue 1 passes, the Ohio Supreme Court would have the final say on whether police officers and military members could serve on the new redistricting commission, two Ohio law professors said.

“A strict textualist reading of the proposed amendment might extend to excluding military officers even though it seems unlikely that’s what was intended by the measure and even though it’s not at all clear that that’s what a court would decide," said Steven F. Huefner, a professor of law and judicial administration at Ohio State University. "It would be for the Ohio Supreme Court to decide just what the measure means.”

Atiba Ellis, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, said there's no "neat answer" to the question.

"To the extent that an elected official would have someone in their direct employ, that person would have a conflict of interest and certainly that could include police officers, fire officials and that sort of person − depending on the context of who's hiring them and to whom they are accountable," Ellis said.

And yet, he wouldn't go as far as opponents are. "I don't think that every person who is appointed to every civil service job would necessarily fall into that position," Ellis said.

It might take a lawsuit to know for sure. "At the end of the day, the Ohio Supreme Court is ultimately going to decide this when a relevant case comes up," Ellis said.

What happened in Michigan

Ohio's redistricting proposal is modeled on one that Michigan passed in 2018. Michigan's amendment states that individuals in Michigan's armed forces can serve on the commission.

Despite this express permission, it doesn't appear that Michigan's redistricting commission included police officers or military members. Commission members' jobs ranged from a former research assistant and healthcare IT professional to two lawyers and a retired auto worker.

Jessie Balmert covers state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. 

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Issue 1: Who can't serve on proposed redistricting commission?