Ahead of the 2024 election, over 80 bipartisan Ohio business and thought leaders signed an open letter in support of a constitutional amendment advanced by Citizens Not Politicians to create an Independent Citizen Commission for statehouse legislative and congressional redistricting.

Issue 1 would have ended gerrymandering by empowering citizens, not politicians, to draw fair districts using an open and transparent process. It incorporated best practices adopted by other states like Michigan and Arizona.

Concerned Ohio business leaders signed an open letter expressing opposition to Issue 1. The formerly proposed constitutional amendment threatened the integrity of Ohio’s democratic processes and aimed to ensure that a simple majority could no longer pass constitutional amendments.

The election was held on August 8, 2023, and Issue 1 was defeated 57%-43%, paving the way for a November 2023 reproductive freedom ballot victory and the November 2024 objective redistricting ballot initiative.