Issue 1 - Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission

Article XX Section 1. Establishment of the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission (A) To ensure an open and transparent process and fair outcomes that preserve the political power inherent in the people, the Ohio Citizens Redistricting Commission is hereby established upon the effective date of this article and shall be responsible for adopting a redistricting plan for the general assembly and a redistricting plan for the United States House of Representatives, as provided in this article. (B) Redistricting and the operations of the commission shall be governed in accordance with the procedural and substantive requirements set forth in this article. (C) The commission shall consist of fifteen members who have demonstrated the absence of any disqualifying conflicts of interest and who have shown an ability to conduct the redistricting process with impartiality, integrity, and fairness. Membership on the commission shall consist of: (1) Five members who are affiliated with the First Major Party; (2) Five members who are affiliated with the Second Major Party; (3) Five members who are independent. (D)The commission shall be constituted and convened no later than May 16, 2025, and no later than January 16 of every year ending in one for subsequent redistricting cycles. (E) The term of office for each member of the commission shall expire upon the appointment of the first member of the succeeding commission. Section 2. Establishment of Bipartisan Screening Panel; Screening of Applicants; Formation of the Commission (A) A bipartisan screening panel is hereby established upon the effective date of this article to review and screen applicants interested in serving as members of the commission. The bipartisan screening panel shall consist of four retired judges, two of whom affiliate with the First Major Party and two of whom affiliate with the Second Major Party. (B) In the initial 2024-2025 redistricting cycle and in each subsequent redistricting cycle, members of the bipartisan screening panel shall be selected as follows: (1) The four members of the Ohio ballot board who were appointed by members of the general assembly shall convene to oversee selection of the bipartisan screening panel. All administrative and operational support for this selection shall be provided by the Department of Administrative Services. (2) The four members of the ballot board convened under section 2(B)(1) of this article shall make available an application form no later than December 16, 2024, and no later than May 1 of every year ending in zero, that interested retired judges shall use to apply to be a member of the bipartisan screening panel. The form shall require that an interested retired judge submit sufficient information to enable the four members of the ballot board to assess the judge's qualifications and ability to be impartial and competent, and to carry out required duties with full public confidence. To be eligible to serve on the bipartisan screening panel, a retired judge shall satisfy all the requirements of section 3 of this article. In addition, a retired judge shall attest that he or she has had no known communication material to redistricting matters with anyone ineligible under section 3(C) of this article during the sixty days prior to the submission of his or her application and that he or she is and will continue to be otherwise free from conflicts of interest. The deadline for interested retired judges to submit applications to the ballot board is 30 days after the application first becomes available. (3) After submission of applications, the bipartisan screening panel shall be constituted as follows: (a) The members of the ballot board who affiliate with the First Major Party shall review the applications of retired judges who affiliate with the First Major Party and provide a list of eight eligible applicants and their applications to the two members of the ballot board who affiliate with the Second Major Party. The members of the ballot board who affiliate with the Second Major Party shall review the applications of retired judges who affiliate with the Second Major Party and provide a list of eight eligible applicants and their applications to the two members of the ballot board who affiliate with the First Major Party. (b) From these lists, the members of the ballot board affiliated with the First Major Party then shall select two judges affiliated with the Second Major Party, and the members of the ballot board affiliated with the Second Major Party shall select two judges affiliated with the First Major Party. (c) The members of the bipartisan screening panel shall be selected no later than January 30, 2025, and no later than June 30 of every year ending in zero. (C) During his or her service on the bipartisan screening panel, each member of the panel must promptly disclose any contacts with any person disqualified from service on the commission under section 3(C) of this article and can be removed by a unanimous vote of other members of the bipartisan screening panel for any of the causes set forth in section 4(C)(1), (3), (4), or (5) of this article. In the event of resignation or removal, a replacement will be appointed from the same list and using the same process as for the original appointment. Members of the bipartisan screening panel shall be paid a per diem equal to the per diem paid to a judge assigned to serve on a court of appeals in Ohio. (D) Once constituted, the bipartisan screening panel shall administer the application process and conduct the commissioner selection process in a manner that is impartial, transparent, and fair and that promotes applications from a geographically and demographically representative cross-section of Ohio. (1) To assist it in its duties, the bipartisan screening panel shall engage a professional search firm to solicit applications for commissioner, screen and provide information about applicants, check references, and otherwise facilitate the application review and applicant interview process. (a) Upon approval of this article, and in each year ending with zero, the Department of Administrative Services shall design and issue a request for proposals from interested professional search firms, including soliciting information necessary for a conflict-of-interest check, and shall contract with the chosen professional search firm. The Department of Administrative Services shall create a list of no more than three recommended professional search firms and provide it to the bipartisan screening panel. (b) From the list provided by the Department of Administrative Services, the bipartisan screening panel shall select a professional search firm based on its specialization in screening high-level public sector employees, professional and technological capability to carry out the process, including investigations of applicants and public broadcasting of interviews, an ability to abide by the requirements of open meetings and public records laws, and, during the current year and for six years preceding the application deadline, absence of any conflicts of interests or connections or relationships with interested parties, including, but not limited to, any employment of or contracting relationships or other involvement with elected officials or candidates for office, or any contractual relationships or other involvement with political parties, ballot measure campaigns, or political action committees. (2) The form used by applicants interested in serving on the commission shall obtain all required disclosures and information necessary for the bipartisan screening panel to determine each applicant's qualifications, conflicts of interest, party affiliation, relevant experiences and skills, community ties, and commitment to impartiality, compromise, and fairness. (a) Party affiliation shall be determined based on the applicant's voting record in party primaries and various other relevant factors including, but not limited to, political contributions, campaign activities, and other reliable indicia of partisan affiliation. (b) An applicant who has voted in two consecutive even-year primary elections for the same political party in the six years immediately preceding the application deadline shall be presumed to be affiliated with that party unless relevant factors demonstrate otherwise. (c) All applications shall be submitted under penalty of perjury by a deadline set by the bipartisan screening panel. (3) The bipartisan screening panel shall provide adequate public notice of the application process and accept applications for a period adequate to gather applications from a geographically and demographically representative crosssection of Ohio. (4) After the close of the application period, the bipartisan screening panel shall review submitted applications and by majority vote create a pool of ninety applicants who are qualified to serve on the commission pursuant to sections 3(A) and (C) of this article, who have made requisite disclosures pursuant to section 3(B) of this article, and who collectively form a geographically and demographically representative cross-section of Ohio. This applicant pool shall consist of thirty applicants affiliated with the First Major Party, thirty applicants affiliated with the Second Major Party, and thirty applicants who are independent. (5) The bipartisan screening panel shall make public the name, the current municipality or township of residence, and the partisan affiliation, if any, of each person in the applicant pool and shall create a portal for public comment on the applicants. Members of the bipartisan screening panel, in conjunction with the search firm, shall conduct or direct the search firm to conduct and publicly broadcast interviews with each applicant in the pool that examine the applicant's partisan affiliation, relevant experience and skills, community ties, and commitment to impartiality, compromise, and fairness. (6) After reviewing public comments and conducting interviews, the bipartisan screening panel shall select and publish a list of forty-five finalists for commissioner who are well qualified and collectively form a geographically and demographically representative cross-section of Ohio. The finalists shall include fifteen applicants affiliated with the First Major Party, fifteen applicants affiliated with the Second Major Party, and fifteen independent applicants. (7) In a public meeting not later than three days after publication of the finalist list, the bipartisan screening panel shall randomly draw six commissioners from the finalists. Two shall be affiliated with the First Major Party, two shall be affiliated with the Second Major Party, and two shall be independent. (8) The initial six commissioners shall review the applications, public comments, and interview records of the remaining finalists and, in a subsequent public meeting held within 21 days of their selection as commissioners, select nine additional commissioners from the remaining applicants in the pool, three of whom are affiliated with the First Major Party, three of whom are affiliated with the Second Major Party, and three of whom are independent. To be selected, an applicant must receive affirmative votes from a majority of the initial six commissioners including the votes of at least one commissioner affiliated with the First Major Party, one commissioner affiliated with the Second Major Party, and one independent commissioner. These selections shall be based on the strength of the applications and shall ensure that the commission reflects the geographic and demographic diversity of Ohio. (E) Within 60 days of the deadline contained in section 1(D) of this article, the bipartisan screening panel with the assistance of the professional search firm shall create by a majority vote a pool of at least six potential special masters who are willing to serve if needed, in the event of a legal challenge to a redistricting plan under section 8 of this article. (1) A person may not be included in the pool of potential special masters unless the person has established that he or she is not disqualified pursuant to section 3(C) of this article, has made disclosures pursuant to section 3(B) of this article, and has been screened by the bipartisan screening panel and determined to have: (a) The skill, knowledge, and ability to analyze redistricting plans and, if needed, produce redistricting plans that satisfy all requirements of this constitution and federal law, and in accordance with the record before the court; (b) A lack of contractual relationships with any political party, political action committee, office holder, candidate, or party-affiliated organization in the preceding six years; (c) A lack of substantive communications regarding redistricting matters in the preceding six years with any individual disqualified pursuant to section 3(C) of this article; and (d) A lack of any relationships, connections, personal or professional activities or affiliations, or conflicts of interest that may undermine public trust in the independence of potential special masters or the integrity of the redistricting process. (2) The bipartisan screening panel shall remove from the pool the name of any potential special master whom the panel determines no longer satisfies the qualification requirements in section 2(E)(1) of this article or who is no longer available to serve. A person included in the pool of potential special masters shall notify the bipartisan screening panel immediately if any of the information provided to the panel during the screening process changes or if he or she is no longer willing or able to serve as a special master. (F) The terms of members of the bipartisan screening panel shall expire upon the certification by the Secretary of State of redistricting plans for the general assembly and United States House of Representatives for each redistricting cycle. Section 3. Qualifications; disclosures; post service restriction (A)To be eligible to serve, a commissioner shall be a resident of Ohio who has continuously resided in the state during the current year and immediately preceding six years and shall be an elector in good standing at the time of application. (B) Each applicant seeking to serve on the commission shall disclose: (1) Contributions made by the applicant to federal, state, or local candidates for elective office, political parties, or political action committees, including direct and in-kind contributions, during the current year and immediately preceding six years; (2) The applicant's history of partisan affiliations, including primary ballots voted, non-monetary contributions to political campaigns, and any other political engagement, including, but not limited to, involvement in political campaigns or other political organizations whether paid or volunteer; (3) The identity of family members who would be ineligible under section 3(C) of this article; and (4) Personal or professional relationships with persons during the current year or the immediately preceding six years who would be ineligible under section 3(C) of this article; and (5) All financial information required by law. (C) The following persons shall be ineligible to serve on the commission, on the bipartisan screening panel, as a special master, or as staff, a professional, or a consultant to the commission: (1) Current elected or appointive officials to federal, state, or local office and their immediate family members; (2) Persons who have served in any federal, state, or local elective or appointive office in Ohio for any period during the current year and immediately preceding six years and their immediate family members; (3) Persons who have been a candidate for any federal, state, or local elective office in Ohio during the current year or immediately preceding six years and their immediate family members; (4) Persons who have served as an officer, paid consultant, or contractor to any political party, political action committee, or campaign committee at the federal, state, or local level for any period during the current year and immediately preceding six years and their immediate family members; (5) Persons who have served as a staff member, paid consultant, or contractor for any elected official or candidate for any federal, state, or local office for any period during the current year and immediately preceding six years and their immediate family members; (6) Persons who have been a registered lobbyist or legislative agent with the State of Ohio or the federal government for any period during the current year and immediately preceding six years and their immediate family members. (D) Commissioners shall be ineligible to hold elective or appointive state office in Ohio for six years following the certification of the redistricting plan for the general assembly. Section 4. Commission internal governance and staff (A) All deliberations and actions of the commission shall be in public meetings and all actions by the commission shall require the affirmative vote of at least nine commissioners, including the vote of at least two commissioners affiliated with the First Major Party, two commissioners affiliated with the Second Major Party, and two independent commissioners. The presence of nine commissioners shall constitute a quorum. (B) At the first meeting of the full commission, the commission shall select two members to serve as co-chairs. The co-chairs may not have the same partisan affiliation. The co-chairs shall be responsible for presiding over meetings of the commission on an alternating basis and performing such other administrative duties as designated by the commission. (C) A commissioner shall be removed only by the commission and only for cause after notice, a public hearing, and an opportunity for members of the public to comment. Any of the following shall be cause for removal: (1) Knowing failure to disclose information pursuant to section 3 of this article; (2) Willful disregard for the provisions in section 5 of this article; (3) Wanton and willful neglect of duty or gross misconduct or malfeasance in office; (4) Incapacity or inability to perform his or her duties; or (5) Behavior involving moral turpitude or other acts that undermine the public's trust in the commission and the redistricting process. (D)The commission shall fill any vacancy on the commission by selecting from the list established pursuant to section 2(D)(6) a finalist with the same partisan affiliation as the removed or resigned commissioner. (E) The commission shall retain staff, professionals, and consultants as needed to assist with the responsibilities, duties, and operations of the commission. All staff, professionals, and consultants shall be retained through a public application process undertaken with the assistance of the Department of Administrative Services. All applicants seeking to serve the commission as a member of staff, a professional, or a consultant shall be subject to the disclosure requirements and disqualifications in sections 3(B) and (C) of this article. Commission staff shall include the following positions: (1) Executive director and other administrative staff to assist with facilitating broad public participation in redistricting including, but not limited to, public outreach, transparency, scheduling hearings, data management, and deployment of technology. (2) Legal counsel with demonstrated experience in compliance and redistricting and, in particular, in enforcing or otherwise applying the Voting Rights Act of 1965; and (3) Demographer or demographers with district mapping experience. (F) Commissioners and commission staff, professionals, and consultants shall owe a duty to the commission as a whole and shall act in the utmost public interest of the people of Ohio and not that of any party, individual, or special interest. Section 5. Redistricting process (A) The commission shall conduct its hearings in a manner that invites broad public participation throughout the state, including by using technology to broadcast commission meetings and to facilitate meaningful participation from a range of Ohioans. (1) In performing their duties, commissioners and commission staff, professionals, and consultants shall adhere to all applicable public records and open meetings laws. (2) Commissioners and commission staff, professionals, and consultants shall not communicate with any outside person about the redistricting process or redistricting plan outcomes other than through designated public meetings or official commission portals. (3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall attempt to contact any member or members of the commission or commission staff, professional, or consultants with the intent to influence the redistricting process or redistricting plan outcomes other than through designated public meetings or official commission portals. Any communication received by a commissioner or commission staff, professionals, or consultants in violation of this provision shall be immediately disclosed to the commission as a whole including legal counsel. If the commission determines that the communication is a material violation of this provision and that the identity of the person who made the communication and the subject matter of that communication are of public interest, the commission shall vote on whether to make such information public. (B) Before adopting any redistricting plan, the commission shall hold at least three rounds of public meetings: (1) Prior to the release of draft redistricting plans, but not later than July 11, 2025, and not later than May 1 of every year ending in one, the commission shall hold at least five initial input hearings to gather information from the public on communities of interest and other factors that Ohioans believe should inform the commission's creation of redistricting plans. Hearings shall take place in all five regions of Ohio, with at least one hearing in the northwest region, one in the northeast region, one in the southeast region, one in the southwest region, and one in the central region. The commission shall provide at least fourteen days' notice of the initial regional hearings. (2) After release of draft redistricting plans, but not later than August 25, 2025, and not later than June 15 of every year ending in one, the commission shall hold at least five hearings across the five regions of Ohio to gather comments on the draft plans. The commission shall provide at least fourteen days' notice of the regional draft redistricting plan hearings. (3) In the event that the commission makes subsequent revisions to a draft redistricting plan, the commission shall hold at least two hearings to gather comments on any such plans. The commission shall provide at least three days' notice of the revised redistricting plan hearings. (4) No later than September 19, 2025, and no later than July 15 of every year ending in one, the commission shall adopt final redistricting plans. Proposed final redistricting plans shall be made public no later than three days prior to a meeting to adopt final redistricting plans. (C) The commission shall make census and relevant election data, demographic data, and other public records broadly accessible and provide a portal for digital submission of public comments. All redistricting plans, whether draft or final, shall be produced with digital geographic files in a format that allows for analysis and reproduction of demographic data, and an analysis of district performance. (D) Within three days of approval of any final redistricting plan, the commission shall issue and make publicly available a report for such redistricting plan that explains the basis on which the commission made decisions and sets forth how the commission used the public comments and the evidence presented to it to achieve compliance with the requirements for drawing districts. The report shall include relevant definitions of terms and standards used for drawing each such plan. In conjunction with the report, the commission shall also release the complete record before the commission. (E) If any final redistricting plan adopted by the commission is not challenged under section 8 of this article, the commission shall submit that final redistricting plan to the Secretary of State for certification ten days after the redistricting plan report in section 5(D) of this article is made publicly available. The Secretary of State shall certify each final redistricting plan within one day of receiving the plan. Section 6. Rules for drawing districts (A) Each redistricting plan shall contain single-member districts that are geographically contiguous and that comply with the United States Constitution and all applicable federal laws, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (B) To ban partisan gerrymandering and prohibit the use of redistricting plans that favor one political party and disfavor others, the statewide proportion of districts in each redistricting plan that favors each political party shall correspond closely to the statewide partisan preferences of the voters of Ohio. (1) For purposes of this section, the statewide proportion of districts in each redistricting plan that favors each political party shall be determined by: (a) Calculating the number of districts in the redistricting plan that would have been won by the candidates representing the First Major Party and the Second Major Party using the two-party vote in each statewide partisan general election contest held in the preceding six years for which precinct-level data is available; (b) Dividing each of these numbers by the total number of districts in the redistricting plan to obtain the proportion of districts in the redistricting plan that would have been won by candidates representing the First Major Party and the Second Major Party in each election contest; and (c) Calculating the median of these proportions for each political party. (2) The statewide partisan preferences of the voters of Ohio shall be determined by: (a) Calculating the proportion of the statewide two-party vote received by the candidates representing the First Major Party and the Second Major Party in each statewide partisan general election contest held in the preceding six years for which precinct-level data is available; and (b) Calculating the median of these proportions for each political party. (3) For the purposes of this section, to correspond closely means that the statewide proportion of districts in each redistricting plan that favors each political party may deviate by no more than three percentage points in either direction, or if this is arithmetically impossible, by the smallest possible proportion that is larger than three percentage points, from the statewide partisan preferences of the voters of Ohio. (4) No redistricting plan shall be drawn with consideration of the place of residence of any incumbent elected official or any candidate for state or congressional office. (5) In deciding whether to adopt a particular redistricting plan for the general assembly, the commission shall not take into account senators whose terms will not expire within two years of the plan's effective date would be affected by following the provisions of Section 6(E). (C) Each redistricting plan shall also comply, to the extent possible, with the criteria listed below in order of priority; provided, however, that application of the criteria below does not permit adoption of a redistricting plan that violates paragraphs (A) or (B) of this section: (1) Districts for the same office shall be reasonably equal in total population; (a) The total population of Ohio as determined by the most recent federal decennial census shall serve as the population basis for equalizing district population. (b) Persons in the custody of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections or its successor agency shall be counted at their last known pre-incarceration address for purposes of equalizing district population. (2) Districts shall ensure the equal functional ability of politically cohesive and geographically proximate racial, ethnic, and language minorities to participate in the political process and to elect candidates of choice; and (3) Districts shall preserve communities of interest to the extent practicable. (a) A community of interest is an area where the record before the commission demonstrates the existence of communities of people with broadly shared interests and representational needs, including, without limitation, interests and representational needs that arise from common ethnic, racial, social, cultural, geographic, environmental, socioeconomic, or historic identities or concerns. (b) Counties, municipal corporations, townships, and school districts may constitute communities of interest provided the record before the commission clearly and convincingly demonstrates such subdivision is a community of people who have broadly shared interests and representational needs that are greater than those of other overlapping communities of interest. (c) Under no circumstance shall communities of interest include a community defined based on a shared political identity or common relationships with political parties or political candidates. (d) In considering which overlapping communities of interest to preserve, the commission shall give greater consideration to those communities of interest whose representational needs would be most benefited from the community's inclusion in a single district. (D) In the redistricting plan for the general assembly, districts for the Ohio House of Representatives shall be numbered from one to ninety-nine, and districts for the Ohio Senate shall be composed of three contiguous House of Representatives districts and shall be numbered from one to thirty-three. (E) At any time the boundaries of Ohio Senate districts are changed in any general assembly final redistricting plan adopted pursuant to this article, a senator whose term will not expire within two years of the time the adopted redistricting plan becomes effective shall represent, for the remainder of the term for which the senator was elected, the Senate district that contains the largest portion of the population of the district from which the senator was elected, and the district shall be given the number of the district from which the senator was elected. If more than one senator whose term will not so expire would represent the same district by following the provisions of this section, the commission in the report required under section 5(D) of this article or the Supreme Court of Ohio adopting a final redistricting plan under section 8(D)(3) or (4) of this article shall designate which senator shall represent the district and shall designate which district the other senator or senators shall represent for the balance of their term or terms. Section 7. Impasse procedure (A) If the commission fails to adopt any final redistricting plan under section 5 of this article by September 19, 2025, or by July 15 of every year ending in one, the following procedures shall be followed to resolve the impasse: (1) Each commissioner shall have three days to submit no more than one proposed redistricting plan for each redistricting plan that is the subject of impasse for a ranked-choice selection process. Any redistricting plan submitted for the ranked-choice selection process shall comply with the criteria in section 6 of this article and shall be made publicly available for comment for seven days. (2) Within two days of the end of the public comment period, each commissioner shall then rank all the submitted redistricting plans starting with his or her most preferred redistricting plan followed by submitted redistricting plans ranked in decreasing order of preference. The submitted redistricting plan that wins a total vote runoff shall be the final redistricting plan. A total vote runoff process shall be conducted as follows: (a) If a majority of commissioners rank the same submitted redistricting plan in the first position, that submitted redistricting plan is adopted. (b) If no submitted redistricting plan garners a majority of first-position rankings, each submitted redistricting plan is allocated the number of points corresponding to the commissioners' rankings. The method of allocating points for each submitted redistricting plan is to allocate one point for every commissioner's first-rank vote, and two points for every commissioner's second-rank vote, with this process continuing until all commissioners' votes are allocated for each submitted redistricting plan. Each submitted redistricting plan's points total is the sum of the points from all commissioners, and the submitted redistricting plan with the highest point total is eliminated. The rankings of the other submitted redistricting plans are then adjusted if necessary to reflect that elimination and any changes in the point total. If there is a tie for the highest point total, the submitted redistricting plan to be eliminated shall be chosen through a random process. (c) This process of eliminating the submitted redistricting plan with the highest point total is repeated until a redistricting plan has the majority of first-position rankings at which point it becomes the adopted final redistricting plan. (B) With respect to any final redistricting plan adopted under the provisions of this section, the commission shall issue a report consistent with section 5(D) of this article and shall submit that final redistricting plan to the Secretary of State for certification consistent with section 5(E) of this article, and the Secretary of State shall certify that final redistricting plan consistent with section 5(E) of this article. Section 8. Jurisdiction of Supreme Court; expedited judicial review; effect of determination of constitutionality. (A)The Supreme Court of Ohio shall have exclusive, original jurisdiction in all cases which contend that a redistricting plan adopted by the commission fails to comply with the requirements of section 6(B) of this article. (B) Any registered elector in Ohio may seek review of an adopted redistricting plan under this section by filing a petition within ten days of the commission's issuance of the report required under section 5(D) of this article. If more than one such petition is filed, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall consolidate such petitions into a single action for purposes of adjudication. In any action brought under this section, the record before the court shall be limited to the record before the commission. (C) The commission shall have exclusive standing to defend any action brought under this section and shall file a response to any petition within five days of the petition's filing. (D) Actions brought under this section shall be adjudicated using the following expedited review process: (1) Within five days of the filing of any petition under this section, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall by unanimous vote select two special masters from the pool established by the bipartisan screening panel under section 2(E) of this article. If the court is unable to unanimously select two special masters, the administrative director of the Supreme Court of Ohio shall randomly select two special masters from the pool created by the bipartisan screening panel. The two special masters selected shall be entitled to reasonable compensation set by the Supreme Court of Ohio commensurate with their skills, experience, and expertise and consistent with industry standards, plus reimbursement of reasonable, actual, and necessary expenses. The special masters shall hold a public hearing within twenty days of the filing of the commission's response to the latest filed petition. No later than seven days after conclusion of the hearing, applying a standard of review deferential to the decisions of the commission, the special masters shall review the challenged redistricting plan, considering only the record before the court, to determine whether it complies with section 6(B) of this article and shall issue a report setting forth their determination of whether the commission abused its discretion in concluding that the challenged redistricting plan complies with the requirements of section 6(B) of this article. (2) If a petitioner or the commission disagrees with the report and determination issued by the special masters, such party shall have seven days to file objections with the Supreme Court of Ohio. (a) If no objection to the special masters' report and determination is timely filed, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall issue an order adopting the special masters' report and determination as the final, non-reviewable decision of the court. (b) If any such objections are filed, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall hold a public hearing on the objections within fifteen days of the filing of the latest filed objection. Applying the same standard of review deferential to the decisions of the commission, based on the record before the court, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall issue a written order, with opinion, within ten calendar days after the hearing, addressing and either upholding or rejecting each objection to the special masters' determination as to whether or not the commission abused its discretion in concluding that the challenged redistricting plan complies with section 6(B) of this article. (3) If a final order of the Supreme Court of Ohio issued under paragraph (D)(2) of this section determines that the commission abused its discretion in concluding that a challenged redistricting plan fails to comply with the requirements of section 6(B) of this article, the commission shall have seven days to make any adjustments necessary to bring the redistricting plan into compliance and submit the revised redistricting plan to the special masters and the Supreme Court of Ohio. If the commission makes the necessary adjustments, the Supreme Court shall issue an order adopting the revised redistricting plan as the final, nonreviewable decision of the court. (4) If the commission fails to make the necessary adjustments within seven days or the court, in consultation with the special masters, concludes that the commission has failed to adequately remedy the violation of section 6(B) of this article, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall immediately order the special masters to make such minimal adjustments within five days as are necessary to bring the challenged redistricting plan into compliance. Changes made to a challenged redistricting plan by the special masters shall not be reviewable by any court, and the Supreme Court of Ohio shall issue a final order adopting the redistricting plan as adjusted by the special masters. (E) Within one day of the issuance of a final order approving a redistricting plan by the Supreme Court of Ohio in a case brought under this section, the commission shall submit such plan to the Secretary of State, who shall certify any such redistricting plan within one day of receipt. (F) Except for claims brought under this section, no other challenges to an adopted final redistricting plan, including challenges to the decisions of the commission with respect to how best to comply with the criteria in section 6(C), may be brought in any court. Section 9. Financial and administrative independence (A) Commissioners shall be entitled to one-hundred and twenty-five dollars per day, plus reimbursement for reasonable expenses at the rate set by the United States Internal Revenue Service, for each day attending commission meetings or otherwise carrying out the responsibilities of the commission. This amount shall be adjusted for inflation annually beginning in 2025. (B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this constitution or any laws of this state, the general assembly shall make appropriations to the Department of Administrative Services, the bipartisan screening panel, and the commission in amounts adequate for each entity to fulfill its duty under this article, and the general assembly shall further appropriate amounts adequate for funding those entities' participation, if necessary, in all related litigation. If the general assembly fails to comply with any of its obligations under this paragraph, the Supreme Court of Ohio shall compel it to comply with such obligations forthwith. (1) For purposes of funding the commission, adequate funding shall mean: (a) For redistricting in 2025, an amount appropriated by the general assembly no later than December 10, 2024, that is not less than seven million dollars. (b) For each redistricting cycle after 2025, an amount appropriated no later than January 1 of a year ending in zero that is not less than the amount appropriated under sub-paragraph (B)(1)(a) of this section, adjusted for inflation. (c) The general assembly shall make separate and timely appropriations to cover all the commission's expenses in any related litigation. (2) For purposes of funding the bipartisan screening panel, adequate funding shall mean an amount appropriated no later than December 10, 2024, and January 1 of every subsequent year ending in zero, that is not less than one-eighth of the amount appropriated under sub-paragraph (B)(1)(a) of this section, adjusted for inflation. The general assembly shall make separate, timely, and adequate appropriations to cover all the bipartisan screening panel's expenses in any related litigation. (C) The work and compensation of the special masters under this article shall be timely and adequately funded out of the budget of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Section 10. Implementation (A) Upon the effective date of this article, all redistricting plans used to elect members of the general assembly or the United States House of Representatives are void for any subsequent election. (B) In order to facilitate compliance with section 6 of this article, the Secretary of State shall, within 90 days after any election, collect the precinct boundaries used by each county for any statewide election held, and shall maintain such data and shall make it publicly available on an ongoing basis in a manner suitable for analysis of the redistricting plans. (C) The redistricting process set forth in this article shall take place once in a redistricting cycle. Section 11. Definitions (A) "Effective date of this article" means the date on which the Secretary of State certifies that voters have approved the addition of this article to the Ohio constitution. (B) "Independent" means a person who is not affiliated with either the First Major Party or the Second Major Party as determined by the bipartisan screening panel based on available information. (C) "First Major Party" means the political party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of votes in the last election held for such office. (D)"Second Major Party" means the political party whose candidate for governor received the second highest number of votes in the last election held for such office. (E) "Retired judge" means a person who left judicial service on any Ohio court by reason of resignation or retirement. "Retired judge" does not include a person who was removed or suspended without reinstatement from service on any Ohio court pursuant to the Rules for the Government of the Judiciary or who resigned or retired from service on any Ohio court while a complaint was pending against the person under those rules. A retired judge may at the time of his or her selection be serving, and may thereafter continue serving, as an assigned judge, teacher, mediator, or arbitrator so long as that service does not conflict with the duties of the bipartisan screening panel. (F) "Special master" means a person with the demonstrated ability, knowledge, experience, and expertise to analyze, create, and, where warranted, modify redistricting plans in accordance with constitutional requirements, as well as the capacity to evaluate evidence relevant to such plans and such requirements and to generate a thorough, credible report and determination regarding the same that will withstand judicial review and engender public confidence. This may include a person with appropriate demographic analysis abilities, experience with mapping populations at a state level, and legal understanding of compliance requirements. (G) "Adjusted for inflation" means annually applying the United States City Average Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Midwest Region, East North Central Division, or the future equivalent of such index. (H) "Department of Administrative Services" means that department or its successor agency. (I) "Redistricting cycle" means the redrawing in 2024-2025 and following each subsequent federal decennial census, in accordance with this article, of the boundaries of the districts used to elect members of the general assembly and the United States House of Representatives. Section 12. Construction and severability (A) The provisions of this article are severable. If any provision of this article or its application is held to be invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications, which shall be given maximum possible effect in the absence of the invalid provision or application. (B) If any provision of this article conflicts with other provisions of this constitution, conflicts shall be resolved in favor of this article. (C) All references to days in this article shall be understood as calendar days. If any deadline or date in this article falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or official state holiday, the date or deadline shall be extended to the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or official state holiday. (D) The commission may make reasonable adjustments to its deadlines in this article if conditions beyond its control require such adjustment to allow adoption of redistricting plans.