Ohio GOP Party Alex Triantifilou told a county party event that 鈥渃onfusing Ohioans was not such a bad strategy鈥� in defeating last fall鈥檚 redistricting amendment, according to a Fremont newspaper. And the head of Ohio鈥檚 Democratic Party is firing back.
Earlier this week, the Fremont News-Messenger reported Triantifilou said in a speech to local GOP members that people were saying they were confused about the amendment, on the ballot as Issue 1. 鈥淐onfusion means we don鈥檛 know, so we did our job,鈥� Triantafilou is quoted as saying.
Democrats had claimed the ballot summary language, which was written and adopted by Republicans on the Ohio Ballot Board, was deliberately confusing.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 the first time we鈥檝e seen someone openly brag about it this way,鈥� said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters.
Walters said early polling showed most voters supported the Issue 1 plan. There were reports of Ohioans who said they were confused by the summary language, which is intended to describe what the ballot issue would do. Some voters said they intended to vote 鈥測es鈥� on Issue 1, to take control of the redistricting process away from elected officials and over the redistricting process to a citizens panel, but were confused by that language on the ballot.
Citizens Not Politicians challenged the ballot language approved by majority Republicans on the Ballot Board. The GOP-dominated Ohio Supreme Court let most of the language stand, including a line that said the amendment would require gerrymandering.
鈥淒irty tricks, kind of the oldest trick in the book to not tell voters the truth to get what you want,鈥� Walters said.
Issue 1 would have created a 15-member citizen panel to draw congressional and legislative district lines. The amendment was written by Republican former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O鈥機onnor. In 2021 and 2022, she joined the court鈥檚 three Democrats in rejected redistricting maps seven times as unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Republicans took those maps to a federal court, which allowed them to stand in 2022. The partisan balance of the court is now 6-1 after November鈥檚 election. Justice Jennifer Brunner is now the court鈥檚 only Democrat and the only elected Democrat in statewide office.
The Ohio Republican Party and Triantafilou said they did not want to comment further on this story.
