The League of Women Voters' 2010 Phonathon campaign, "90 for 90," is under way with special recognition of the state League's 90th anniversary. If you donate before March 1, you won't be bothered by a phone solicitation. Even better, make your gift before May 1, and Kent LWV receives a 15 percent rebate. This is a win-win situation for us and for the state League budget.
 

State LWV officers strive to accomplish much, despite  difficult economic times. Last year's budget revenue was reduced dramatically, resulting in a deficit. State officers often have paid their own travel and phone expenses. Such dedication is great but we, as responsible League members, need to do our share.                                                                 
The state league celebrates 90 years of involvement, thus the campaign slogan "90 for 90." They suggest giving a dollar or more for each year that the League has made a difference in Ohio democracy. State officers see our organization as a force for civic renewal and change in Ohio politics.
 
Ohio LWV President Meg Flack noted that since 1920, LWV Ohio has been working to make Ohio's election system more fair and transparent. Political reforms are on the horizon with hopes that demonstrate progress in three key areas: 

 

To print a Phonathon contribution form, click here. Please remember that contributions to the Ohio LWV Education Fund are tax deductible. Contributions to the League of Women Voters of Ohio are not.
 
Kent League members take action! Make your contribution before March 1 or definitely before May 1 so that our League can receive the 15 percent rebate.  
 

This year, Statehouse Day occurs along with State Council on April 14. Council occurs in the years the state convention is not held and primarily addresses budget issues. Statehouse Day is a wonderfully invigorating event where current issues in the state are discussed.  
 
Breakout sessions, to which state legislators are invited, are held in the afternoon. The breakout sessions allow participants to interact with their legislators one-on-one. 
 
It is an all-day event beginning at 8:30 a.m. with registration and continental breakfast. The cost is $35 per person. This includes materials, continental breakfast, lunch, and a good time with fellow League members. If you are interested in attending and would like to car pool or need a ride, contact Terrie Nielsen (330-274-0864).  
 

The League of Women Voters recently testified before the Committee on House Administration in a hearing titled "Defining the Future of Campaign Finance in an Age of Supreme Court Activism." At the U.S. congressional hearing, Mary G. Wilson, national League president, told committee members that they must pass legislation governing corporate and union spending quickly, in order for it to take effect for the 2010 elections.
 
"The Court's majority decision in Citizens United v. FEC was fundamentally wrong and a tragic mistake. But this is the decision of the Court," said Wilson. "Congress needs to respond now, recognizing its own authority and responsibility to uphold the Constitution. Fair and clean elections, determined by the votes of American citizens, should be at the center of our democracy.
 
"The Court's decision in Citizens United upends basic campaign finance law that has been in place for a century. It changes the foundation on which decades of congressional enactments on money in elections are built. Such a fundamental change requires a strong response from Congress and the Executive."
 
The League supports numerous concepts moving forward in this post-Citizens United context; however, Wilson stressed the urgency in doing something now. "After Citizens United, we urgently need enhanced disclosure. This is the most basic step toward protecting the role of the voter in making decisions in elections," said Wilson. "It is now possible for corporations to secretly provide funds that another corporation uses to intervene in an election through independent expenditures. This is not acceptable. The League of Women Voters supports strong disclosure requirements for both those who receive election funds and those who provide such funds.
 
"After providing enhanced disclosure, the next most important step for Congress is to do no further harm. A decision as far-reaching in its implications as Citizens United will provoke a number of proposals that, we believe, could make our election system and government processes even worse," Wilson argued. "We need fair elections, not greater involvement of big money in elections and government. Each of these steps--such as altering contribution limits to candidates and PACs or allowing corporations and unions to once again donate huge sums to political parties--would increase corruption or the appearance of corruption and further distort our political processes."
 
Wilson pointed to a number of other proposals--from new controls on foreign corporations to public financing--that Congress should consider in seeking to block corruption of American democracy.
 
For more information, click here.  
 

As we approach the 2010 Census--which likely will result in decreased congressional representation for Ohio--it is important to ensure that every Ohio resident is counted. The League is involved in this effort on two fronts.

 

First, the state League is a member of the statewide Ohio Complete Count Committee (CCC) established by Gov. Ted Strickland to increase awareness about the 2010 Census and educate and motive Ohioans to participate. The committee will work collaboratively with local Complete Count committees and the U.S. Census Bureau to ensure a complete count through education and promotion, Increase counts in hard-to-count areas, and increase mail-back rates of Census materials. LWVUS also is a CCC partner at the national level. For more information, click here.

Second, the Ohio League is participating in the statewide Ohio Census Initiative, You Can Count on Me, a nonprofit committee working to increase participation by focusing on 300 of the most difficult census tracts for intensive efforts to get an accurate count. Many of LWVO's Education Fund coalition partners (e.g., Ohio Citizen Action Education Fund, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing and Ohio Votes) are participating.

 

For more informaiton on the Census, see Complete Count: Ohio 2010 Census and Nonprofits Count: Mobilizing Communities for the 2010 Census. 
 

Ohio State Representative Tom Letson (D-Warren) has introduced a resolution to change Ohio's decennial redistricting procedure from a winner-take-all system to a fairer and more transparent one.
 
This is a good addition to the discussions surrounding Senate Joint Resolution 5, introduced by Sen. John Husted (R-Montgomery Co.) and passed by the Senate this fall. The bill provides for a bipartisan commission to draw district lines. A bipartisan commission is a great improvement over the existing system, and Letson's House resolution would srengthen the criteria used for redistricting.
 
The resolution establishes a transparent, citizen-driven competition for redrawing the district lines for the Ohio General Assembly based on measurable criteria: representational fairness, competition, and honoring communities of interest by rewarding compactness and keeping municipalities intact. These criteria are quite similar to those tested last spring in the Ohio Redistricting Competition. However, the resolution uses the criteria differently than the competition did, and those differences can be examined during deliberations.
 
"The Ohio Redistricting Competition proved that Ohioans can draw districts that reflect the political values of Ohio voters and are also both compact and competitive," said Meg G. Flack, President of the League of Women Voters of Ohio. "Ohio needs a process that will produce representatives who reflect the political values of Ohioans and provide meaningful choices to Ohio voters. This resolution allows Ohioans to be active participants in their government by submitting redistricting maps for consideration based on fair, objective and measurable criteria."
 
Like most American states, Ohio has had a partisan winner-take-all redistricting process. This allowed a Democratic majority to create Democratic-biased legislative districts in 1971 and 1981 and a Republican majority to create Republican-biased legislative districts in 1991 and 2001. Because it is unclear who will have the upper hand in the 2011 redistricting, this is a uniquely favorable time for reforms that will eliminate these gerrymandering practices.
 
"Voters don't deserve to be manipulated or gerrymandered. Fairness is clearly in the best interest of the voters," said Joan Lawrence, former Ohio State Representative (R-Galena). "No one knows who will have control of the Reapportionment Board in 2011. It is in the best interest of the legislators to create a fair system."
 
This proposal would not have been possible just a few years ago. "Mapping software has become increasingly user-friendly, opening the redistricting process up to the public," said Richard Gunther, professor of political science at Ohio State University. "In fact, one of my undergraduate students participated in the redistricting competition. And our experience with that competition demonstrated that it is possible to create districts that represent the two major parties fairly, that provide voters with real choice in competitive districts, and that represent the interests of the diverse communities that make up Ohio."
 
We urge the General Assembly to present a joint resolution for voters' consideration that will eliminate partisan gerrymandering and establish a fair, objective and transparent process for redrawing district boundaries. If passed by Ohio voters, this will ensure that voters' choices, not politicians', prevail in elections.