Ohio voters crush Issue 1 and Issue 2

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Both statewide issues on the Ohio ballot were defeated.

Voters said 'no' to Issue 1 and 'no' to Issue 2.

Issue 1 was a call for a state constitutional convention. By law, voters are asked every 20 years whether a new constitutional convention should be called.  2012 was that year. Had the issue prevailed, delegates would have been appointed to draft a new constitution or amendments that voters would then be asked to approve.

The last time a constitutional convention was called was in 1910 when citizens and politicians felt a need to modernize a constitution that was first written in 1802. Then next time the issue will be on the ballot will be 2032.

Issue 2 was a proposed constitutional amendment to change the way Ohio determines and draws legislative and congressional district lines.

Right now the job is done by elected officials, but some argued the process is too political, as the party in control tries to draw lines that favor its candidates.

Proponents of the amendment wanted to remove elected officials from the redistricting process and hand the responsibility over to a new redistricting commission.

With the amendment's defeat, elected officials will continue the task of redistricting.