Ranked choice voting is defined by the Campaign Legal Center as "a process that allows voters to rank candidates for a particular office in order of preference." Photo: Edmond Dantès, Pexels

Issue 1 on Ohio’s 2024 ballot proposes a constitutional reform to address gerrymandering and its impact on the state. Voting “Yes” on the issue means you are in favor of a bipartisan citizen-led commission being in charge of drawing Ohio’s voting maps. Voting “No” means you are in favor of keeping the current process in place, which includes elected politicians drawing voting maps.

Since the concept’s first usage in 1812, states like Ohio have faced the effects of gerrymandering, where biased redistricting manipulates electoral boundaries and dilutes voters’ influence on election outcomes. The ballot proposal includes plans to create an independent process for drawing congressional and state legislative district lines by establishing the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission, a 15-member bipartisan board responsible for adopting redistricting plans transparently. It would require districts to be drawn fairly and impartially, making it unconstitutional to favor any political party or individual politician.

The latest results

Numbers last updated at 11:21 p.m.:

With 90% of precincts reporting, the Associated Press has officially called Ohio’s Issue 1, declaring the ballot measure’s failure with ‘No’ votes at 54.1% and ‘Yes’ votes at 45.9%.

Numbers last updated at 11:18 p.m.:

With 89% of precincts reporting, Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot measure is projected to fail, with ‘No’ votes at 54.1% and ‘Yes’ votes at 45.9%, according to the Associated Press.

Numbers last updated at 10:27 p.m.:

With 77% of precincts reporting, Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot measure is projected to fail, with ‘No’ votes at 54.3% and ‘Yes’ votes at 45.7%, according to the Associated Press.

Numbers last updated at 9:23 p.m.:

With 56% of precincts reporting, Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot measure is projected to fail, with ‘No’ votes at 53.6% and ‘Yes’ votes at 46.4%, according to the Associated Press.

CityBeat is following key races as results are reported by boards of election and the Associated Press. Keep scrolling for updates as polls close and votes are counted:

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This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 12, 2024.