By KFDI News and the Associated Press:
The Kansas Senate voted Tuesday afternoon to override Governor Kelly’s veto of a new congressional district map. The vote was 27 to 11, with the exact number of votes needed for the override.
This was the Senate’s second vote on the override. A previous vote failed 24 to 15 on Monday.
The vote will send the override attempt to the Kansas House, where a two-thirds majority will be needed again.
The plan would split the Kansas City area into two congressional districts and cost Democratic U.S. Representative Sharice Davids some territory where she performs well. The liberal northeast Kansas city of Lawrence would go into a district with western and central Kansas.
Governor Kelly vetoed the map, saying it divides communities of interest and raises constitutional issues.
The ACLU of Kansas issued a statement after the Senate vote, saying that “Democracy wasn’t allowed a seat at the table for this vote.”
This entire process unfolded unfairly, from the rush last fall to hold town halls, to scheduling those town halls at what has seemed like the most inconvenient times, and then largely ignoring the stated desires of the citizens who did attend.
We at the ACLU of Kansas, however, are not without resources. We are considering every tool at our disposal to defend against this grievous attack on the Constitution as well as on the rights of Kansas voters. We’ve taken none of our options off the table.
