As KS congressional map awaits trial, legislative and ed board maps head to Kelly’s desk
New district maps for the Kansas House, Senate and State Board of Education are headed to Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk.
The Kansas House voted 83 to 40 and the Senate 29 to 11 Wednesday to approve a bill combining all three sets of boundaries, redrawn every ten years to account for population changes recorded by the U.S. Census.
Before becoming law, the new lines must gain Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s signature and approval from a panel of three judges.
Congressional redistricting maps are tied up in a Wyandotte County court, where they face lawsuits alleging racial and political gerrymandering. The case goes to trial on Monday.
The map making needed to account for rapid population growth in Johnson County. While the House and Senate maps largely maintained the existing GOP majority in the Legislature, most of the swing districts for both chambers were concentrated in Johnson County.
Though the House map earned broad bipartisan support in the chamber last week, many members voted against the package Wednesday because of the inclusion of the State Board of Education map.
The map, which passed in the Senate Tuesday, combined four of 10 current members into a district with another incumbent. It also split Wyandotte County into three board districts.
Rep. Tom Burroughs, a Kansas City Democrat, said he was frustrated by the splits in Wyandotte County and called the decision to draw an incumbent who had served for two decades into a district with another current member “disrespectful.”
Senate President Ty Masterson said Tuesday he hoped the map would encourage more conservatives to run for the board. The board has clashed with the Legislature in recent years on issues of school curriculum.
Board members Tuesday called the map a gerrymander that would harm representation for urban students and politicize the board.
