The state’s annual redistricting process will be heating up now that federal Census data has revealed changes in population across the state.
17th District Senator Jeff Longbine of Emporia says redistricting is at first a math problem — with a jigsaw puzzle and a game of dominoes thrown in for good measure. A case in point is his district, which likely will stay intact — but would involve a major expansion in coverage area if one key change is made.
Redistricting will likely be one of the main topics in the Legislature this year, and Longbine says politics should be kept out of the equation as much as possible.
60th District Representative Mark Schreiber of Emporia says major boundary changes will likely be in the state’s southeast corner, western third and in Johnson County as population shifts from rural to urban areas. He says his own district could see some adjustments, but he expects to cover the same general area.
Longbine says he was a bit surprised by Lyon County’s overall population decline of around 4.5 percent. His district, however, gained almost two percent because of a major increase in Geary County. Schreiber, meanwhile, says he was not surprised in the declines, either for his district or rural areas of the state as a whole.
Longbine says districts typically don’t see a lot of change unless they have population changes above five percent, either plus or minus. Lawmakers have considered a 2.5-percent “tolerance level,” but Longbine says that is not feasible.
Emporia’s population dipped around 3.1 percent, while Lyon County’s population was off around 4.5 percent. All area counties lost population in the latest Census, with those declines anywhere from 3.3 to 10.1 percent.
