SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.
We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.
What’s going on in Kansas
Process
State Legislature
Kansas's state legislative and congressional districts are drawn by the state Legislature by ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto. The Legislature can override vetoes with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
Criteria
While Kansas, like all states, must follow the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, Kansas’ state constitution does not list additional criteria. For at least the past two redistricting cycles, however, the Kansas legislative Reapportionment Committees have adopted guidelines (2012 guidelines here) that require state legislative and congressional districts be compact, contiguous, preserve political subdivisions, and preserve communities of interest. In addition, state legislative districts must avoid pairing incumbents, and congressional districts must preserve the cores of prior districts. The guidelines also stipulate that both redistricting plans “will have neither the purpose nor the effect of diluting minority voting strength.” However, the Legislature can change these guidelines at any time, in any way.
Public Input
While Kansas law does not require public hearings, the Joint Special Committee on Redistricting held meetings in 14 different locations in 2011, starting in July. It is likely that there will be similar opportunities for public input in 2021.
Additionally, Insight Kansas held a redistricting competition in 2012, inviting readers to draw their own redistricting maps. The entries were compiled into a presentation that was sent to the chairs of the Legislature’s Redistricting Committees.
Issues
Pitfalls
The Republican-controlled Legislature currently has a supermajority in both the House and Senate, enough to override the Governor's veto on a redistricting plan. A change of two seats in the House or Senate would undo the supermajority. If supermajority Republican control remains when it is time to draw new maps in 2022, there will be an increased risk of partisan and racial gerrymandering due to the lack of real gubernatorial involvement.
Census Delays
- State legislative redistricting plan deadline: end of legislative session in 2022; possibly April 10, 2022 (Art. X § 1)
- Congressional redistricting plan deadline: no statutory deadline
The Census Bureau may delay sending population data to states until as late as July 31, 2021. As Kansas has a late deadline for state legislative redistricting and no statutory deadline for congressional redistricting, the data delay should have little to no impact.
History
In the 2011 redistricting cycle, the Legislature adjourned without completing either state legislative or congressional redistricting after significant gridlock between moderate and conservative Republicans. A federal lawsuit was filed in Essex v. Kobach over the unequal population of districts following the legislative failure to adopt new lines. On June 7, 2012, the US District Court for the District of Kansas issued an opinion drawing both state legislative and congressional districts.
Actions
In 2020, support state legislative candidates who favor fair districting in order to prevent a veto-proof supermajority.
In 2021, participate in the Legislature’s public input process.
- Obtain Kansas redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
- Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Legislature starts collecting feedback.
- Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.
Read the Common Cause Activist Handbook on Redistricting Reform to learn about what reforms have been successful in the past, and what steps to take to enact reform in the future.
Contacts
Data provided by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project