As a new decade approaches, Kansas lawmakers should consider legislation that would take the politics out of redistricting.
The state of Iowa, which has had a nonpartisan redistricting committee in place since 1980, could serve as a model.
Under current rules, Kansas governor and Legislature will redraw congressional and legislative district lines in 2022 to balance out district populations based on the 2020 census. It is perhaps the most political endeavor legislators face as legislators push to weight districts heavily in the favor of their parties and incumbents. The redistricting process is so political in Kansas that the last time it was done, in 2012, the Kansas Legislature couldnt agree on a plan, and the maps ended up being drawn by a panel of three federal district court judges.
Redistricting is one of the most purely political processes there is, if you dont have a redistricting commission or a neutral body, University of Kansas political scientist Burdett Loomis said. It is by definition political.
Iowa does have a neutral body. The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency draws congressional and legislative boundaries. A five-member Redistricting Advisory Commission made up of two members appointed by the majority party, two by the minority party and a chairman chosen by the four appointees holds public hearings and provides guidance and feedback to the Legislative Services Agency.
The Legislative Services Agency uses prioritized criteria population equality, respect for political subdivisions, contiguousness and compactness to draw the boundaries. Iowa law specifically requires political and racial neutrality. The law states that data concerning the addresses of incumbents, the political affiliation of registered voters, previous election results, and demographic data, other than population head counts, are not to be considered or used in establishing districts.
Iowas Legislature and governor must approve or reject the plan as is. Changes are not allowed. If the plan is rejected, the Legislative Services Agency adjusts the plan and resubmits it. Since going to this process in 1980, it has never taken more than three tries for the plan to be approved. There has not been a court challenge to Iowas redistricting plans since the state went to the new model.
Redistricting is critically important to determining the majority party in Congress and in state Legislatures. Against that backdrop, its hard to imagine Kansas legislators willingly relinquishing control of the process. But if they truly wanted to serve the interests of Kansans, they would look more closely at Iowas redistricting model.
Lawrence Journal-World
