As we learned today that the Kansas Senate successfully over-rode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the patently unfair Ad Astra redistricting map, we can’t say that we’re surprised, but we are disappointed.
Democracy wasn’t allowed a seat at the table for this vote.
We are disappointed that the redistricting committee violated its own standard of not breaking up communities of interest by moving Lawrence into the same district as Goodland and diminishing the voting power of Black voters in Wyandotte by ripping it in two. Maps were introduced without underlying demographic data, so no one could immediately determine impact.
This entire process unfolded unfairly at every step, from the rush last fall to hold town halls, to scheduling those town halls at what has seemed like the most inconvenient times, and then largely ignoring the stated desires of the citizens who did attend.
We at the ACLU of Kansas, however, are not without resources. We are considering every tool at our disposal to defend against this grievous attack on the Constitution as well as on the rights of Kansas voters. We’ve taken none of our options off the table.
The spirit of Democracy may not have been represented at the vote today in the Senate, but we will make sure that it has the last word on a fair, legislative map, and on the voting rights we should all hold as sacred.