Tuesday, September 21, 2021

OH Law Offers Residents Chance To Remove GOP Members Of Redistricting Panel


The Ohio Republicans’ attempt at State Redistricting Maps has outraged Voters, worried Watchdogs, and given Democrats enough Legal Ammunition, for an ugly Courtroom Fight. It also has led some to look deep into the Ohio Constitution, the Document many say the Republicans tossed Aside on their way to Passing the New Maps, last week.

Buried there is a little-known way to Remove Public Officials from Office, if they Violate their Oaths of Office. The Provision, which is detailed in State Law, is different from a Recall or an Impeachment.

It calls for a Judge, and possibly a Jury, to decide an Officeholder’s fate, following a Petition Drive. State Law calls for Signatures from 15% of the Voters, in the last Gubernatorial Election. The Issue has been considered for years on the Local Level, but few People have thought much about it on a State Level.

It came up after the Ohio Redistricting Commission, approved Maps for New State Senate and House Districts, that offered a Gerrymandered, GOP-Supermajority and breezed through, a Sept. 1st Deadline to Release a Map that the Public could study.

Even now, the Removal Issue is Not echoing through the Statehouse, but it does lead to a Debate: Did the Republicans on the Panel: Gov. Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Auditor Keith Faber, House Speaker Bob Cupp, and Senate President Matt Huffman, violate the very document that they were sworn to uphold? Did they go so far that they can be removed for misfeasance and malfeasance?

“A petition would be more than reasonable in this case,” said Subodh Chandra, a former Cleveland Law Director and a 2006 Democratic Candidate for Attorney General. “Without question, the Republicans have been violating the constitution. This is not a close call. The constitution is clear, and they have been flouting it.”

Richard Gunther knows a good deal about Redistricting and the Constitution. Gunther is an Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Ohio State University, and a Member of the 2015 Bipartisan Working Group, that drafted Redistricting Reforms to the State Constitution. “I certainly think that the maps that were drawn and approved were blatantly unconstitutional,” Gunther said. “What I don’t know is whether that would open someone up to the removal from office.”

Jen Miller, the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said her Group is looking at Options, but the Removal Issue has Not come up. She stressed the Venom of Residents over the move. “We wanted to see the members of the commission put voters and the Ohio Constitution ahead of themselves and their short-sighted interests,” Miller said. “But that, of course, didn’t happen.”

Some say the Ohio Constitution was Trampled Twice during the Process. The Document says the Commission must Release a Proposed State Legislative District Plan to the Public “not later than the first day of September of a year ending in the numeral one.” It allows for maps to be filed later if it became deadlocked. The Panel didn’t Release its Plan until Sept. 15th, but it wasn’t because of a Deadlock. There just wasn’t a Plan.

The Constitution also says the Redistricting Commission “shall attempt” to Draw Maps that do Not “favor or disfavor” a Political Party, and it calls for Maps to be Politically Proportionate with recent Vote Results. Republicans have won 54% of the Votes in the 16 Federal and Non-Judicial State Races contested Statewide over the past Decade.

Upon release of the Maps, Republicans argued they had won 13 out of the 16 Elections, or 81%. They cited that Record to justify awarding themselves between 54% and 81% of the Seats, as they said both represented a “statewide proportion of voters favoring Republican candidates.” DeWine and LaRose Voted in favor of the Maps, but they later expressed Concerns about whether the Final Products were Constitutional. “I’m not judging [the maps] one way or the other,” the Governor said. “That’s up for a court to do.”

The Democratic Members of the Panel, House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes (D-34th District) and her Father, Sen. Vernon Sykes (D-28th District), Rejected the Plan. ‘A pretty tough assignment’ If Residents wanted to Remove the Panel’s Five Republicans who Voted for the Maps, from Office using the Provisions in the Constitution, it would be a Long, Costly Fight. The Petition’s Organizers would have to Prove the GOP Members willfully Violated the Constitution.

In the Cases of Statewide Officeholders DeWine, Faber, or LaRose, the Petition Drive would Require more than 664,000 Signatures. “It would end up costing you at least $4 million to do it,” said Mark Brown, a Law Professor at Capital University. “That could be a pretty tough assignment to take on.” He said a Group pushing the Issue would need to gather at least 1.2 Million Signatures, as many will be Tossed during the Verification Process. He said it Costs about $3 to $4 per Signature.

The Law calls for the Petitions to be filed in the Appellate Court where the State Officeholder Lives. There, Counsel for the Petitions Group would Act as a Prosecutor and seek to Present the Case against the Official. The Case would go before a Judge and, if the Accused wants one, a Jury “It’s a cumbersome process, and it is rarely used,” said Steven Steinglass, a Dean Emeritus at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University, and an Expert on the Ohio Constitution.

Homer Bostwick, a Franklin County Probate Judge, was among the First to be Removed from Office under the Provision. In 1931, he was Accused of giving several Gifts to a Younger Woman, according to Published Reports. When she got Married and Refused to give the Gifts back, Bostwick Legally pressured the Woman, a move that Prompted the Petition Drive.

It was a bit Easier obtaining Petitions for a County Probate Judge in 1931 than today, especially when it comes to State Officeholders. The Progressive Movement, that made its Name in Ohio and across the Country, during that Time has Passed.

In many Cases, the Time and Cost make the Removal an Uphill Fight. “In the end, to get 600,000 signatures on anything is going to be really difficult,” Brown said.

If the Gerrymandered Maps pass, it will be the Highest Court in Ohio to decide if they are Valid. The Federal Court System No longers handles Gerrymandering Cases.










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