COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted said Thursday that legislators could fix Ohio's partisan redistricting process with a few sentences.

Husted said the two competing efforts to change how Ohio draws congressional districts are too complicated.

A reform plan, he said, only needs two rules: Require a bipartisan vote and don't divide counties until the entire population of the county has been used up to draw a district.

"That's all you have to do. Bipartisan vote, don't divide counties -- boom!" Husted said, speaking to reporters outside a conference of the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies.

Husted, a Republican lieutenant governor candidate, led the charge to reform the process in 2009 as a state senator. But Democrats did not support his proposal because they thought they might have majority control over the process in 2011.

But instead, Republicans took control of both Statehouse chambers and were able to gerrymander a map of safe seats for both parties, giving the GOP an advantage in 12 of 16 districts.

Husted has stayed out of the public discussion about the redistricting reform plan introduced earlier this month by Republican Sen. Matt Huffman. But he said Thursday he has talked with legislators in recent days.

He said legislators and a coalition of groups proposing a constitutional amendment, spearheaded by the League of Women Voters of Ohio, should work together to draft a simpler plan.

"Going your own way, no matter who that is, has proven to be unsuccessful in redistricting," Husted said.

The two groups have fought in recent days over Huffman's proposal, which establishes several rules for splitting counties but would still allow the majority party in the legislature to draw maps with little input from the minority party. Legislators want to put the measure before voters in the May primary election.

The Fair Districts = Fair Elections amendment, slated for the November ballot, would instead have the seven-member commission that will draw state legislative districts also draw Ohio's congressional districts. The proposed amendment, modeled after the successful 2015 ballot issue reforming Statehouse redistricting, also limits county splits to no more than one where feasible.

The Senate had been rushing to pass the proposed amendment this week, but decided to take another week to review Democrats' proposed amendments and other changes.

Huffman said earlier this week that his plan won't move forward without Democrats' approval. Senate President Larry Obhof said Wednesday he also wants the Fair Districts coalition's support before advancing a measure, with the promise the group halts its effort.