Last week, a group called Citizens Not Politicians turned in more than 700,000 signatures so that you can vote this November to change the way our legislative and congressional districts are drawn.

The group that has worked so hard to collect these signatures is non-partisan, and the commission that will be created to draw fair districts so we can have fair elections will be free of politicians.

See, the reason we have an extreme out-of-touch state legislature is because for decades politicians, not regular people, have been drawing their own districts. In other words, politicians pick their voters to ensure they stay in office and retain their power instead of voters picking their elected officials.

The system is rigged and this is the reason Ohio is falling behind other states in job growth, economic development and so many other areas because our legislature is extreme and dysfunctional. 

Instead of working to improve Ohio, our extreme lawmakers are busy trying to deny collective bargaining rights to working people..

…or giving hundreds of millions of dollars to private school operators and wealthy families through a universal voucher program that undermines our public schools…

…or trying to raise the threshold to change our Ohio Constitution to 60 percent instead of a one person one vote simple majority of 50-plus one that has been our right for more than 100 years.

If citizens, not politicians, would draw legislative districts, then we would have fair elections and the laws will reflect the ideas of everyday Ohioans instead of repeatedly defying the will of the people.

For more information, go to https://weareohio.com/cceg/