Due to population shifts and increases in most electoral districts around the state, even counties like Butler County will be affected by redistricting changes. Ohio's constitution requires the General Assembly to redraw and rewrite district maps throughout the state every 10 years. New maps are currently being redrawn and approved for state representatives.
According to Butler County Representative Senator Bill Coley, "Representatives throughout Ohio have been meeting ever since the preliminary census data was sent from the federal to the state government."
By doing so, the representatives hope to determine new districts that will equitably represent the voters and communities throughout Ohio. The new districts must be approved by the Apportionment board, which is composed of one Democratic member, Armond Budish, and four Republican members, Tom Niehuas, David Yost, Jon Husted and Governor John Kasich.
Sophomore Adam Zsely expressed concern that with one party in control of the committee, bias could potentially play a factor.
"It's hard to see how the redistricting could be totally fair because the board that determines it is Republican in the majority," Zsely said. "With only one Democrat in the minority on the apportionment board, I feel like it would be kind of hard to draw fair lines for the districts to be equally represented."
The Representatives of Butler County, however, have little to worry about. Although both the House and Senate districts in Butler County could see changes in their representation due to population shifts, there will not be any huge changes in representation, insists Butler County Senator Bill Coley.
Senator Coley said changes for the Senate will be subtle and hardly have any effect on Oxford at all.
Coley said representation will stay mostly the same, with only part of Middletown experiencing some change.
"Because of the rapid growth in Butler [County], some residents over near Middletown will face change because part of Middletown sits in Butler County and part sits in Warren County," Coley said. "Butler County was over the constitutional limit of people so the people needed another representative. Each person's vote should be equally represented."
Aside from a few district changes around Middletown, Butler County will see few changes.
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