Following the City Council District 7 race in November 2025, The Columbus Dispatch nailed it in their “Our View” opinion piece:

“The city’s voting district system paints a false picture of fairness and provides only a sliver of the council representation this diverse community’s residents crave and deserve.

The system usurped the will of voters in Columbus District 7, an area that includes the Short North, Franklinton, German Village, Olde Towne East, the Near East Side, and downtown.”

Further…

“Columbus’ voting district system is uncommon and unfair to voters who deserve the representation they elected.

It may have seemed like a good compromise when it was conceived, but the Ross-Vogel matchup suggests otherwise.

A system that only gives the illusion of representation is a danger to the American idea of fair elections.”

Read more here.