TOPEKA – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said he will ask the Kansas Supreme Court to approve the newly redrawn legislative district maps that were signed into law Friday, according to a statement from the AG's office.
The Kansas constitution requires legislators to reapportion all 40 Kansas Senate districts and 125 House of Representative districts to reflect population changes from the 2020 census. Legislators approved the new boundaries with large, bipartisan majorities and the governor today signed into law the bill creating the new district boundaries.
"The procedure for judicial review of state legislative districts differs significantly from that for review of congressional districts," Schmidt said. "Unlike congressional redistricting where the attorney general's role is to defend the redrawn boundaries against legal attacks brought by dissatisfied parties, the attorney general is required by the state constitution to proactively seek judicial review of new legislative district boundaries in the Kansas Supreme Court. I will do so promptly."
The redistricting bill next must be published in the Kansas Register. Within 15 days of publication, Schmidt must file a request for the Kansas Supreme Court to review the new legislative district boundaries. Schmidt said he will ask the court not only to review the boundaries but to approve them.
"The new legislative district boundaries appear to satisfy all legal requirements previously established by state constitutional, statutory or common law," Schmidt said. "So I will ask the Kansas Supreme Court to approve the new district boundaries as quickly as possible so candidate filing for this year's legislative elections can proceed without unnecessary disruption or delay."
In addition to handling the legislative maps, Schmidt’s office has been defending against legal challenges in Wyandotte County brought by parties dissatisfied with the recently enacted new boundaries for the four congressional districts.