The Kansas House ratified action of their brethren in the Kansas Senate to complete Wednesday an override of Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the congressional redistricting map that moves Lawrence to the rural 1st District.
The Kansas Senate on Tuesday succeeded in overriding Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a congressional redistricting map shifting Lawrence to the rural 1st District.
Despite their supermajority, Republicans failed to gather the 27 votes necessary to override the governor’s of a GOP-drawn congressional map.
Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday vetoed a GOP-drawn congressional map that would divide the Kansas City metro and place Lawrence into a rural district that stretches to the Colorado border.
Kansas Republican senators on Friday countered criticisms of their plan for the state’s congressional district boundaries, passing the controversial “Ad Astra” map that moves Lawrence into a rural district that stretches to Colorado.
A Kansas House committee has introduced four competing maps that would redraw the state’s congressional districts and attempt to lock down partisan advantages. In one map, Lawrence would move to the district that stretches to Colorado.
The task of serving interests of nearly 3 million Kansans falls to the state’s 125 representatives, 40 senators and one governor. The annual legislative session starts Monday and redistricting must be done by June.
The Republican-controlled Legislature is expected to lean toward adoption of boundaries in the four congressional districts favorable to winning each of the partisan elections.
Kansas legislative staff released details Wednesday about how to participate in upcoming public meetings on redistricting.
While guidelines for testimony and the redistricting process remain up in the air, advocates for fair maps in Kansas are advising residents to look at past frameworks when speaking to lawmakers at upcoming town halls.
