Kansas congressional redistricting prompts a court debate over partisanship versus democracy

A map drawn by legislative Republicans was thrown out by a lower court on grounds that it discriminated against people of color and Democrats.
Lawyers seeking to have the Legislature’s congressional redistricting map thrown out argued today to the Kansas Supreme Court that the proposed boundaries weaken the representation of minorities and traditionally Democratic voters.

But defenders of the Republican-drawn map said the court should not weigh in on what is an inherently partisan process, and that the Kansas Constitution has no explicit prohibition of political gerrymandering.

“Congressional redistricting is political by design,” said Brant Laue, Kansas Solicitor General. “The U.S. and Kansas constitutions wisely entrust this task to political actors in the Kansas Legislature. Political considerations cannot be avoided when redrawing district lines.”