Judge strikes down Kansas map, finding lawmakers intended to dilute minority voter power
A Kansas judge on Monday tossed the state’s Republican-drawn congressional map, finding the Legislature intentionally diluted minority votes in a partisan and political gerrymander that violated the state constitution.
The decision, by Wyandotte County District Court Judge Bill Klapper, is a victory for a group of voters who challenged the map, arguing it violated guarantees of voting rights, equal rights and free speech in the Kansas Constitution. It’s the first time in Kansas history a state court has ruled against a congressional map.
Klapper ordered the Legislature to redraw the map and prohibited officials from conducting elections under the unconstitutional map following a four-day trial earlier this month. But the decision is guaranteed to be appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court — leaving the ultimate fate of the map uncertain.
The Republican-controlled Legislature, overriding the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, redrew the state’s four congressional districts to divide Wyandotte County between two districts for the first time in 40 years. It also moved the Democratic-leaning college city of Lawrence out of an at-times competitive 2nd District and into the vast, rural 1st District, where Democratic candidates have little chance of winning.
Klapper, first elected in 2013, found that the map — called Ad Astra 2, a play on the state’s motto — “was motivated at least in part by an intent to dilute minority voting strength.”
He referred to now-infamous comments in 2020 by Susan Wagle, then the Republican Senate president, who promised lawmakers could deliver four GOP congressional seats — remarks that attorneys for the voters brought up repeatedly at trial. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids is the state’s sole Democrat in Congress, representing the 3rd District, which comprises the Kansas City metro area.
“Beginning with Senator Wagle’s late-2020 comments about creating four Republican congressional districts, the record leading up to Ad Astra 2’s passage reflects a single-minded desire to maximize Republican advantage,” Klapper wrote.
Elsewhere in his decision, he wrote that the court “suggests most Kansans would be appalled to know how the contest has been artificially engineered to give one segment of the political apparatus an unfair and unearned advantage.”
Klapper ruled that state courts in Kansas have the power to rule on congressional maps because, while the federal constitution has supremacy, legislatures must enact maps that abide by both the state and federal constitution.
Partisan and racial gerrymandering, Klapper wrote, violates several provisions of the state constitution including a Kansan’s right to equal protection, the right to free speech and assembly, and the right to vote.
“The Court has no difficulty finding, as a factual matter, that Ad Astra 2 is an intentional, effective pro-Republican gerrymander that systemically dilutes the votes of Democratic Kansans,” Klapper wrote.
Republicans quickly dismissed the decision. “No surprise,” Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said. “On to the next step.”
Klapper made clear throughout the trial that the proceedings amounted to a stop along the way to the Kansas Supreme Court, which will ultimately decide whether to invalidate the map.
But his decision is still momentous. If the ruling is ultimately upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court, it could upend the redistricting process in future decades. Federal courts have stopped policing political gerrymandering by states, but future lawmakers may think twice if they know their maps can be struck down under the state constitution.
The Supreme Court’s review is likely to occur on a highly accelerated timeline. While lawsuits can often last years, Kansas faces multiple looming election-related deadlines, including the June 1 candidate filing cutoff and the Aug. 2 primary election.
Mark Johnson, an attorney representing some of the plaintiffs, said he wasn’t surprised by the decision given the evidence presented. “Still thrilled but this is just the first step in the process,” Johnson said.
The ACLU of Kansas, which represented some of the plaintiffs, hailed the ruling. In a statement, its legal director, Sharon Brett, said Klapper saw the map for “what it was — a deliberate attempt to silence the political voices of Democratic and minority Kansans.”
“Although we know this case is not over yet, we look forward to settling this issue and securing the rights of our clients in the Kansas Supreme Court,” Brett said.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican whose office defended the map in court, on Monday afternoon announced his office had filed a notice of appeal in Wyandotte County District Court.
“Today’s Wyandotte County District Court 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,” Schmidt said in a statement, referring to some of Klapper’s more colorful passages.
The state is “promptly appealing,” he said.
“It is not surprising that a partisan Democrat judge sided with Laura Kelly’s east coast special interest groups to usurp lawfully enacted maps approved by a super majority of the people’s representatives,” House Speaker Ron Ryckman, House Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch and Majority Leader Dan Hawkins — all Republicans — said in a joint statement.
“We look forward to the Attorney General’s appeal of this erroneous decision.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Judge strikes down Kansas map, finding lawmakers intended to dilute minority voter power."
