TOPEKA, KS — The League of Women Voters of Kansas voted to approve an updated Redistricting position statement at its 2023 Biennial Convention in Wichita. The updated position statement replaces LWVK’s legislative apportionment position statement developed in 1975.
“LWVK believes redistricting should be handled by a non-partisan independent entity composed of individuals who reflect the diversity of the state,” said Martha Pint, president of the League of Women Voters of Kansas. “The process should be guided by constitutional standards. The League’s new position statement supports codifying traditional redistricting criteria in an effort to provide courts and the independent entity with the basis for determining the validity of district plans.”
The updated LWVK Redistricting position statement:
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promotes a redistricting process that does not “protect” or favor incumbents or one political party over another.
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identifies elements of Legislative and Congressional redistricting processes that should be codified in the Kansas Constitution and state law.
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advocates enactment of legal standards related to the formation of districts to facilitate court review.
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advocates practices that do not consider voter registration and past election results in the formation of districts, but can be used as an analysis tool along with other recognizable statistical methods for evaluating partisan fairness.
Legislative and Congressional districts are reconfigured every 10 years following the Constitutionally-mandated census. The process is commonly called “redistricting,” and its purpose is to equalize population among districts so that each resident of the country is represented equally. In 2022, the Kansas Legislature redrew the four Congressional districts, 40 state senate districts, and 125 state house districts, as required. The next decennial census will take place in 2030 with the state’s redistricting cycle scheduled for 2031-2032.
The League of Women Voters of Kansas is a nonpartisan, grassroots, volunteer political organization with nine local Leagues and over 1,000 members across the state. LWVK encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League never endorses candidates or parties.
Contact: Martha Pint, President
president@lwvk.org
316-259-6182