It didn’t take long for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to appeal a judge’s decision on new Congressional district boundaries.
About six hours after Wyandotte County Judge Bill Klapper struck down the map, calling it “racially gerrymandered” and unconstitutional, Schmidt announced his appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court.
Schmidt did not address the judge’s concerns in a brief statement Monday afternoon. However, he said Klapper’s decision “may be the first redistricting case ever to make use of folk-song lyrics, the Buddha, and personal memories from the judge’s childhood.”
11:15 am Monday: Congressional redistricting map struck down by Wyandotte County judge; appeal to Kansas Supreme Court almost guaranteed
As state lawmakers begin the veto session Monday, they received word the Congressional redistricting maps approved during the regular session ran afoul of a state judge.
Wyandotte County Judge Bill Klapper called the map unconstitutional Monday. The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the maps as drawn out by Republicans on the grounds it was “racially gerrymandered.”
The map made several changes for the KVOE listening area, moving Lyon, Chase, Morris and Wabaunsee counties from the First District to the Second along with Coffey and Osage counties, but the big issues were what the map did in Douglas and Wyandotte counties, typically Democrat strongholds. The so-called Ad Astra map split both counties, moving parts of them from the Third District to the Second.
76th District Representative Eric Smith says he’s not surprised by the ruling. Other lawmakers representing Lyon County have not commented on the decision at this time. The judge has ordered the Legislature to fix the map, but an appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court may well come first.
No such issues formed as state lawmakers reset the district boundaries for the Kansas House and Kansas Senate once the Congressional map was formally approved. Those maps were approved overwhelmingly and signed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly.
