Experts: Columbus 'at large' voting helped Ross win council seat.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – There will be a new face representing Columbus City Council District 7.

Voting results show which areas of the city voted for which candidate and how, despite voting for a district councilmember, the whole city gets a say.

"Most cities either have at-large elections that are at-large, or they have district elections where people only in the district vote, and so, you know, what we have is kind of a halfway compromise that was designed to create the illusion of districts without having to actually have district elections," OSU Political Science Professor Vladimir Kogan said.

Columbus has a hybrid at-large system. Each city councilmember must live in the district they represent, but every Columbus voter, regardless of where they live, votes for each council member.

"Historically, under certain conditions, district elections tend to produce greater minority representation, so elect candidates of choice of minorities and minorities themselves,” Kogan said. “That doesn't seem to be the case in Columbus because voting in Columbus is not polarized along racial lines.”

Voter data shows Vogel won district seven by about 4,500 votes, but because the whole city had its say, and Ross did better in other districts, she won the seat. The Columbus voter data map shows results by precincts and wards. NBC4 analyzed the ward voting data alongside the city's district map to estimate how much Vogel carried the district.

Republican strategist Bob Clegg said the hybrid district system keeps those not backed by current city leaders out.

"They wanted to keep out at that time when they first did it, which was about five years ago, they wanted to keep out Republicans and Independents,” Clegg said. “Well, now it's expanded. They want to keep out Republicans, Independents, and, it looks like, progressive Democrats. So you have now a situation in where a candidate, Jesse Vogel, ends up winning the district that he's from but loses because it went citywide.”

The city said this change in the system, which was approved by voters in 2018, means every part of Columbus receives better representation on issues impacting neighbors. The maps were drawn in 2021.

“Columbus is essentially an at-large system with a veneer of districts that make it look like we have districts, but as a way to essentially, I think, address some of the political demands for districts without actually having to fully move to that system and give up some of the benefits of at-large representation," Kogan said.

The results show Ross carried the east side of the city, while Vogel won in the center.

The next step is for the Franklin County Board of Elections to certify the votes and declare the results official, which must happen within the next 21 days.