logo for the League of Women Voters of Topeka and Shawnee County

Redistricting 2022 and Beyond

The League is again partnering with organizations across the state that are also interested in fair congressional districts.

Legislative leadership has declared that it will bring up congressional redistrictging during the 2026 legislative session — in the absence of new census data and to achieve a purely partisan goal.  

Take Action

Send a Postcard . . .

to your Kansas State Senator and Representative.

Help us send a clear message to those we elected to serve us: DO NOT STEAL OUR VOTE! Join the call to the legislature to NOT redraw maps half way through the redistricting cycle in order to win political favor. Please share this link with your friends and neighbors so we can show our elected officials that Kansans are watching, and we will not let them cheat us of our vote.

Watch this space for updates and information.  Things will move fast once the session starts!

 

Mid-Cycle Redistricting — What the Heck?

On October 16 the LWVK and KsFairMaps hosted a mid-cycle redistricting presentation by Dr. Michael Smith from Emporia State University. 

 

A short refresher on gerrymandering.

In 2022 the LWVK produced a short video describing how gerrymandering is done and the impact it has on communities.  The Kansas Legislature gerrymandered our congressional districts then and they want to do it again.  

LWVK Redistricting Position

After the 2022 round of redistricting, the Kansas League (LWVK) updated it’s position on legislative and congressional redistricting. A committee of League members from across the state created the revised position which was adopted at the League’s convention on April 22, 2023. 

A recording of the briefing on the position presented for League members during the spring of 2023 is posted below.  LWVTSC members met in February to consider concurrence with the new state position. The members in attendance voted unanimously to concur with the position.

 

2022 Redistricting in Topeka

The City’s Council district boundary lines are redrawn every 10 years following the U.S. Census to rebalance the number of residents in each district.  As required by the City’s Home Rule Charter, the Council appointed a Redistricting Commission which recommended a new district plan to the Council on September 1, 2022. The recommended districts were adopted by the Council on November 1, 2022, and will be used for the 2023 City Council elections.

  • The League presented testimony at the Commission’s single public hearing on August 18. 
  • More information about the Redistricting Commission and its activities is available on the Topeka City website.

After observing the 2022 process, the LWVTSC adopted a city redistricting position that encourages the City Council to adopt a process that is less biased toward incumbents.

 

2022 City Council Districts

link to Shawnee County GIS application

2022 Redistricting in Kansas

 

The Kansas Legislature created new legislative and congressional districts during the 2022 legislative session.  Those new districts withstood challenges in court and were used for the 2022 elections of Kansas representatives to the US House and the Kansas House.  State senators, who were not up for election in 2022, will run for the first time in the new districts in 2024.

2022 Congressional Districts

Kansas Congressional Map 2022 "Ad Astra 2"

2022 Legislative Districts  

 

House Districts

Image of Kansas House Districts created by 2022 Legislature

 

Senate Districts

Image of Kansas Senate Districts created by 2022 Legislature