A foreign-born billionaire and progressive activist organizations are bankrolling an Ohio redistricting ballot initiative that could cost Republicans multiple congressional seats and revive liberal hopes in the red-leaning state.
Ohio Issue 1, the “Establish the Citizens Redistricting Commission Initiative,” would create a 15-member commission to create state-level and congressional redistricting maps. The commission would have five Democrats, five Republicans, and five independent members to be selected by a screening panel of two Democratic and two Republican retired judges, with help from a private hiring company.
If passed, Issue 1 would require proportional representation for legislative districts, potentially leading to significant political and racial gerrymandering to satisfy the measure’s requirements. Initial redistricting plans would be required by September 2025 and, from then on, by July 15 of each year ending in one, beginning with 2031.
For the redistricting plan to pass, nine commissioners would have to support it, including at least two Republicans, two Democrats, and two independents. Under the rules of Issue 1, any registered Ohio voter could file a legal challenge against a redistricting plan. The Ohio supreme court would appoint two vetted special masters to review the legality of the redistricting plan.
Support for Issue 1 is divided almost entirely along partisan lines, with state-level Democrats and national progressive activist groups backing the measure to regain political power in a right-leaning state that was once the ultimate toss-up.
Many state GOP lawmakers led by Governor Mike DeWine and national Republicans such as former president Donald Trump have come out against Issue 1, warning of its partisan backing and its potential to dramatically alter Ohio’s political map.
“Ohio voters need to stop this Democrat takeover of legislative redistricting. Vote No on Issue 1. Stop the Steal!,” Trump said on Truth Social in September.
Citizens not Politicians, the left-wing activist group pushing Issue 1, is funded primarily by left-wing interest groups and national labor unions, donor data compiled by Watchdog Open Secrets indicates. Over the past year, roughly 80 percent of the group’s donations came from outside groups and 1 percent came from individual Ohioans, according to publicly available contributor data reviewed by National Review.
The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a dark-money entity bankrolled by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, poured more than $6 million into the coffers of Citizens not Politicians to spearhead its issue No. 1 campaign.
Wyss has poured roughly $243 million into the Sixteen Thirty Fund through his nonprofit Berger Action Fund, according to a report from right-leaning watchdog Americans for Public Trust. The Sixteen Thirty Fund is part of Arabella Advisors’ sprawling, billion-dollar left-wing dark-money network that bankrolls numerous progressive activist organizations.
“Not only is the substance of Issue 1 bad, but the ‘vote yes’ campaign is running ads funded predominantly by an infusion of foreign-backed cash — which is now illegal in Ohio,” said Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust.
“The exploitation of this foreign-influence loophole is happening in competitive states across the country, with liberal operatives openly saying the ballot-issue strategy is designed to boost their preferred progressive candidates. Foreign interference has no place in our elections, and states need to guard against this in future ballot issue campaigns,” Sutherland added.
The American Civil Liberties Union, a progressive legal activist group, donated more than $1 million to Citizens not Politicians, and the progressive Tides Foundation gave $2 million to the organization. Additionally, the Open Society Policy Center, a lobbying organization funded by billionaire liberal mega-donor George Soros, gave $500,000 to Citizens not Politicians.
The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, two powerful progressive teachers’ unions, have donated $1 million and $500,000 respectively to Citizens not Politicians. Ohio’s largest teachers’ union, the Ohio Education Association, contributed $1.5 million to the Issue 1 cause.
Ohio passed legislation earlier this year banning foreign contributions to political campaigns. Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from giving money to candidates, but it does not prevent them from spending on ballot measures and issue campaigns.
“Issue 1 is a Left-wing power grab to elect more liberals to Congress — masquerading as a grassroots effort by Ohioans. Issue 1 is driven by out-of-state dark-money groups with ties to foreign billionaires who want to decide which party wins elections in Ohio and don’t like the choices the voters of Ohio are making,” said Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Action, a conservative election-integrity group.
“Issue 1 creates a new class of unelected bureaucrats who will have no choice but to gerrymander Ohio to help Democrats win more seats in Congress, almost no matter what the people of Ohio have to say.”
Americans for Public Trust and Honest Elections Project Action are both opposed to the ballot measure and have released an ad highlighting the dark-money contributions to the Issue 1 campaign.
Once a perennial swing state, Ohio has become a right-leaning state with a Republican trifecta in the governor’s office and both legislative chambers. Incumbent three-term Ohio senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat and progressive populist, is currently battling Republican challenger Bernie Moreno in one of the most important Senate races this cycle.