Ohio's House Bill 369 has been causing fuss across the state since it was signed into law by Ohio Gov. John Kasich last December, and opponents of the bill are close to getting an amendment onto the November ballot that would redesign the congressional districts instituted by the bill.  On July 3, Voters First, a coalition established after HB-369's inception to combat the bill's Republican-led efforts to deliberately have congressional and legislative districts drawn in their favor, submitted 450,000 petition signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State — significantly more than the 385,000 signatures necessary to obtain a spot on the November ballot. At the end of the month, the Secretary of State will review the signatures and determine which are eligible, after which the coalition will have another set period to obtain more signatures, should the 385,000 not be met. Opponents of HB-369 argue the drawing of last year's new congressional districts represents gerrymandering — when district boundaries are deliberately manipulated to favor a specific political party, grouping certain demographics strategically and distorting voter representations. According to Voters First, last year's secretive redistricting process was led exclusively by Republicans who deliberately disregarded public input. They've been working to amass support for a new bill that would bring transparency and fairness to the redistricting process, which typically occurs every ten years following a census. According to Dan Tokaji, an Ohio State University law professor and member of the Voters First coalition, the issue is one that crosses all party lines. "This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue. [Gerrymandering] has been done by both parties. The opposition has been trying to characterize this as a Democrat-led effort." What has happened, explains Tokaji, is that in Ohio the Republicans currently hold political control, so it just so happens that they jumped on the redistricting opportunity to create districts that specifically advantage them. "You could throw a bucket of paint on the wall and it wouldn't be as ugly as these maps," says Tokaji. In Cincinnati, the redistricting included more suburban and rural areas in the city's Congressional district, potentially giving Republicans greater weight in the district (CityBeat reported on the situation May 30 in response to We Are Ohio joining the effort to overturn the GOP-drawn maps.) Voters First has proposed an amendment for the November ballot that would bring transparency and fairness to the redistricting process by establishing a 12-member "Ohio Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission" that would be made up of non-partisan Ohio citizens. According to Tokaji, members would have to go through an application process that would specifically eliminate politicians, lobbyists and large political donors. Tokaji says the commission would bring to the redistricting process four key components that were deliberately absent in the 2011 process, including fairness, encouragement of competition, respect for community boundaries and compactness of districts. "Ohioans across the political spectrum are just tired of politics as usual. They're sick of leaders acting in a selfish way. We need to change that. To read the full text of Voters First’s proposed amendment, click here. For more information about Voters First or to sign the petition, click here.

The well-funded organization We Are Ohio announced Monday that it will be taking up redistricting laws as its next major battle. We Are Ohio is already known for leading the charge against the state legislature’s attempts to weaken collective bargaining among public employees with Senate Bill 5 and lower the window of time to vote with House Bill 194 and now Senate Bill 295. The organization announced it would be backing Ohio Voters First, a group aiming to take down politicized redistricting. Ohio Voters First is currently trying to get enough signatures to put an amendment on the November ballot that would place redistricting powers in the hands of an independent citizens commission. Redistricting is a process in which the state legislature redraws district boundaries. Originally, redistricting was meant to be used so states and districts could keep up with shifting populations. It is typically done every 10 years in response to the national census. However, politicians were quick to hijack the process. In what is known as “gerrymandering,” politicians redraw district boundaries in a way that gives them or their political parties favorable demographics and places in terms of getting elected. Redistricting cost Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland his congressional seat this year. When Republicans redrew the district map in Ohio in response to the 2010 census, they did so in a way that pit Kucinich against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in a primary battle. The primary fight was a dream come true for Republicans as two prominent liberals in Congress were forced to fight for their political lives. Kucinich lost by nearly 30 points. Other states have already undertaken measures to safeguard against gerrymandering. California recently enacted reform that calls on an independent citizen commissions to draw up districts, and voters will be taking advantage of the nonpartisan redistricting for the first time in the June 7 primary. Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho and New Jersey also use independent or bipartisan commissions.

We Are Ohio, the organization that helped repeal SB5 last year, says it will team up with nonpartisan Ohio Voters First to help put on the November ballot a constitutional amendment that would change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn. The effort is in response to Republican-drawn redistricting maps that attempted to create 12 solidly GOP districts and four Democratic districts. The proposal calls for a nonpartisan commission to redraw legislative and congressional boundaries rather than letting politicians and anyone who gives them money do it. The University of Cincinnati has released a study showing a considerable economic impact from construction of The Banks. Between construction contractors, new residents and visitors to the area's restaurants, the development reportedly will impact the local economy by more than $90 million a year. The parent company of Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino will host two informational sessions this week to offer local vendors information on how to bid on contracts for supplies and services the entertainment complex will need. The first takes place 6 p.m. tonight at Bell Events Centre near the casino site at 444 Reading Road, and the second is 9 a.m. Thursday at Great American Ball Park. The Enquirer on Tuesday reported that the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University have agreed to move the Crosstown Shootout to U.S. Bank Arena for two years in response to last year's massive brawl. NBC Sports today reported that the presents of both universities issued a press release in response, stating that no final decision had been made. The University of Cincinnati and Xavier University were both surprised to see today’s announcement concerning the future of the Crosstown Shootout. While both schools are committed to the future of the Crosstown rivalry, specific discussions are ongoing and no details have been finalized. We look forward to sharing our plans with the community at an appropriate time in the coming weeks. If it does happen, The Enquirer's Bill Koch says it's reasonable, while Paul Daugherty says that's fine but kind of dumb. President Obama is finding it rather difficult to even win primaries against nobodies in the South. Not that it's surprise or really matters, though. Of course, there are reasons for these kinds of returns. Few Democrats are voting in these primaries where Obama faces only token opposition; only protest voters are truly motivated. There's also the fact that Obama is an underdog to Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the states of Kentucky, Arkansas, and West Virginia; Obama lost all three in 2008 to John McCain. Another potential factor: Race. Just when you thought Sarah Palin was super reliable, she goes and backs a Utah Republican incumbent over a tea party supported candidate. The John Edwards jury entered its fourth day of deliberations today because they need to see more prosecution exhibits. A white supremacist was sentenced to 40 years in jail by a federal judge for a 2004 package bomb attack that injured a black city administrator in Arizona. European researchers say they can figure out if Bigfoot really existed, if they can just get one of his hairs. The film version of On the Road premiered at the Cannes Film Festival today, 55 years after Jack Kerouac's Beat Generation-defining novel was published. London's The Guardian says the “handsome shots and touching sadness don't compensate for the tedious air of self-congratulation in Walter Salles's road movie.”