On Thursday, March 10 the Senate introduced three possible Senate maps - Eisenhower, Liberty 2, and Bluestem (all available here - just scroll down to Senate maps). And as expected, they announced on Friday that the deadline to submit public testimony is Monday at 10:30 am. This means we have just a few days to comment on the maps that will shape our legislative districts for the next 10 years.
Now we need you to speak up for your community. You know your community the best - make sure it's represented and that your vote isn't being diminished by a predetermined partisan map.
Here's what you can do right now
- Take a look at the introduced Senate maps, and don't get discouraged by the amount of information. Look for your district and see if the new maps make sense for your community. (If you're not sure what Senate district you currently live in you can look it up as ksleglookup.org)
- Submit testimony for the Senate maps using the KS Fair Maps form. It's fast and easy.
- Give your testimony verbally if you're comfortable. Written testimony is excellent, but we need the committee to hear directly from us during the hearing on Tuesday, March 15 at 12:30.
- Email your legislator and let them know that Kansans need more time to review maps and provide detailed testimony. The legislature rushed through the Congressional map-making process, and we now have three lawsuits challenging a racially gerrymandered map. The legislature needs to slow down and do this the right way for Senate and House maps.
- Share this email with others. We need Kansans to show up during this process!
KS Fair Maps partners are still going through the hundreds of pages of data for the 3 proposed Senate maps. At this time we are focused on a few concerns:
- We oppose any racially gerrymandered maps that cracks the voting power of Black and Brown Kansans.
- We oppose any partisan gerrymandered maps that puts partisanship above the interests of Kansans by creating an undue advantage for one political party over another.
- The KS Legislature should honor their commitment to listen to their constituents and provide additional opportunities to provide testimony on state maps. There was not enough time for Kansans to fully review and provide informed feedback on these maps.
The House maps are scheduled to be introduced on Monday with a possible hearing on Wednesday. We'll send out another email and testimony form when they are available. Keep an eye out for opportunities to engage on those maps too!
Want to submit testimony but not need some help? Check out our latest training for more information about how to provide your testimony and the available resources to understand how our legislative maps are currently established.
State Map Resources
- Kansas House Districts - including current Representatives and District profiles
- Kansas Senate Districts - including current Representatives and District profiles
- Not sure who your legislators are or what district you live in? You can look up your KS Representative and Senator at ksleglookup.org
- Take a deeper dive into the existing Kansas House and Senate district maps. This is a great tool for understanding what our current district demographics and borders look like.