Whichever party controls the Ohio Reapportionment Board or the Ohio General Assembly, seeks to maximize the number of seats it can win. It does this by creating a large number of seats that are reasonably safe for the majority party and a smaller number of districts extremely safe for the minority party. The process results in most Ohio legislative districts being solidly held by one party and uncompetitive in the general election. This means that many voters do not have a meaningful choice at the polls. In addition, the ultimate distribution of seats in the state legislature may not reflect the overall popular vote totals in legislative elections. Non-competitive elections can lead elected officials to be less responsive to voters because they know they are “safe.”
Because there's no competition, no real issues raised in campaigns, there is no reason for incumbents to listen to voters. They are much more likely to listen to their contributors and special interests.
When the outcome of the general election is a foregone conclusion, the important battle is the Republican or Democratic primary.
In 2004 U.S. House races, Republican candidates received 51.1% of the popular vote but still won two-thirds of the 18 House seats. Even during 2006 when there was strong anti-incumbent sentiment, no incumbent U.S. House members were defeated. How did this happen? This was the result of the Republican legislature having drawn a pro-Republican congressional redistricting map in 2001, which was approved by the Republican Governor.
Whichever party controls the Ohio Reapportionment Board or the Ohio General Assembly, seeks to maximize the number of seats it can win. It does this by creating a large number of seats that are reasonably safe for the majority party and a smaller number of districts extremely safe for the minority party. The process results in most Ohio legislative districts being solidly held by one party and uncompetitive in the general election. This means that many voters do not have a meaningful choice at the polls. In addition, the ultimate distribution of seats in the state legislature may not reflect the overall popular vote totals in legislative elections. Non-competitive elections can lead elected officials to be less responsive to voters because they know they are “safe.”