West Hamilton News

Senator Louis W. Blessing III of Colerain Township has introduced Senate Joint Resolution 6 (SJR 6) in response to the rejection of Issue 1 at the ballot box. Despite the outcome, Blessing argues that Ohioans are not content with the current system and believes changes are necessary to address proportional representation issues.

Issue 1 aimed to achieve proportional representation for legislative and Congressional seats in Ohio. At the time of the election, Republicans held a significant majority in the Ohio Senate with 79% of the seats, while recent statewide elections showed only a roughly eight-point Republican advantage. Reformers have expressed concerns about this discrepancy, questioning whether redistricting reform is the best solution.

In response, Senator Blessing proposes SJR 6 as a mathematical approach to addressing proportional representation for state legislative seats. The resolution suggests reducing district sizes by increasing the number of state Senators from thirty-three to fifty-one and state Representatives from ninety-nine to one hundred fifty-three. This change would result in smaller districts, with populations of approximately 232,000 for Senate districts and 77,000 for House districts.

Blessing explains that "proportional representation is a function of district size" and suggests that finding optimal legislative district sizes could better reflect voting preferences across parties. He believes that if SJR 6 had been implemented earlier, it might have resulted in a more balanced distribution between Republicans and Democrats in both legislative chambers.

Additionally, Blessing highlights other potential benefits of smaller districts: legislators would be more connected to their constituents, campaign costs could decrease due to reduced reliance on financial resources, and elected officials might better represent diverse professions within their communities.

Senator Blessing concludes by advocating for SJR 6 as an organic method to tackle proportional representation challenges without necessarily making districts more competitive but potentially strengthening centrist voices within legislation negotiations.