Category: Kansas Legislature

Kansas gerrymandering trial in Wyandotte County is almost over. Here are the takeaways

Experts argue that analysis shows racial and political gerrymandering, while the defense says there’s no way to prove it.

by Dylan Lysen, KCUR and Kansas News Service

Kansas City, Kansas — A trial in state court challenging the recently drawn Kansas congressional map is soon coming to a close after several days of arguments over whether state lawmakers crafted districts to benefit Republican candidates.

Civil rights groups and some residents want the map thrown out because it waters down the influence of people of color by splitting Wyandotte County into separate districts, and because it lumps heavily Democratic Lawrence in a Republican-dominated district.

The challengers spent the first three days of the trial this week providing expert testimony and evidence to bolster their case. Meanwhile the attorneys defending the map have argued that the case should be dismissed.

One more day of testimony is expected on Monday, and then the case will be in the hands of Judge Bill Klapper. He is expected to issue a ruling within 10 days.

Regardless of which way he decides to rule, it will be historic. The Kansas judicial system has never before considered political or racial gerrymandering, and the case is believed to be on its way to a landmark ruling.

With a majority of the testimony heard by the court, here’s some major takeaways from the proceedings so far:

Experts argue political and racial gerrymandering

Political scientist Christopher Warshaw of George Washington University showed the court his statistical analysis of Kansas’ new districts. He said it showed the changes to Wyandotte County and Lawrence cut the chances of a Democratic candidate winning a Kansas seat to the U.S. House nearly in half.

Then Patrick Miller of the University of Kansas presented data showing the most racially diverse portion of Wyandotte County was cut out of the 3rd District, which represents the Kansas City area, into the 2nd District that represents most of eastern Kansas and favors Republicans.

He called that change “disastrous” for the people of color in Wyandotte County because it makes their votes “basically irrelevant.”

Defense says there’s no way to prove gerrymandering

After the plaintiffs finished presenting testimony, attorneys for the state asked the judge to dismiss the case for a lack of evidence.

The defense argued that there is no standard in Kansas to prove what is or isn’t gerrymandering and the challengers could not prove a state law was broken. The judge denied the request.

Judge calls evidence ‘overwhelming’

In his denial, Klapper signaled he believed that the plaintiffs had presented “overwhelming” evidence that the new districts result in political and racial gerrymandering. But he said the question of the trial is whether that means the map is a violation of the state constitution.

He said the plaintiffs presented testimony from several political scientists who all used different statistical tests that came to the same conclusion — the new state congressional maps are a result of racial and political gerrymandering.

The case is heading to the Kansas Supreme Court

At one point in the proceedings, Klapper acknowledged the case was destined to be heard by the state’s highest court.

He called the case a “vehicle to get to the Supreme Court” where the justices will make a final ruling on whether gerrymandering is allowed under the Kansas Constitution.

Dylan Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanLysen or email him at dlysen (at) kcur (dot) org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-04-07/the-kansas-gerrymandering-trial-in-wyandotte-county-is-almost-over-here-are-the-takeaways

Kansas tax reform bundle sent Kelly amassed from shards of 29 different bills

Deal costs state $90M annually — far less than original $500M wish list

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Rep. Adam Smith emphasized the tax reform bill negotiated by a half-dozen House and Senate members started as an extravagant wish list that would have drained off more than $500 million in annual state revenue.

“We did a lot in committee trying to pare this down,” said Rep. Smith, the Weskan Republican and chairman of the House Taxation Committee. “When all the requests and considerations were put in there, it was close to — I’m going to estimate it — close to $500 million to $600 million. We were trying to be fiscally responsible and look at the overall picture.”

Still, the bundle of tax policy changes the House-Senate conference committee wrapped into House Bill 2239 sent a chill down the spine of Rep. Jim Gartner, D-Topeka. He’s not keen to craft a mega-bill drawn from an assortment of other bills, because the tactic usually meant Republicans were trying to force reluctant legislators to hold their noses and vote for a deal.

“Do you know how many bills are in this one bill?” Rep. Gartner asked.

“Do you really want to know?” said Rep. Smith, a bit sheepish about answering. “There are provisions, if I counted it right, of 29 different bills.”

“That has to be a record for a tax bill,” Rep. Gartner said.

The House, with Reps. Gartner and Smith in the affirmative, voted 103-10 to adopt the compromise bill cleaving $90 million a year from tax revenue to the state. A significant chunk of that cut was aimed at property taxpayers assessed 20 mills for support of K-12 public education. Under current law, the first $20,000 of valuation is exempt from the assessment. The bill would double that exemption to $40,000, which would result in taxpayers retaining an estimated $42 million per year.

More work to do

The Senate was more appreciative of the deal and approved the bill 39-0. That sent it last week to Gov. Laura Kelly, who could sign it, veto it or let it become law after 10 days without her signature. A veto could be considered when the Legislature returns April 25.

Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican campaigning for the GOP nomination for state treasurer, said she was disappointed the Legislature didn’t take up other tax bills waiting in the wings.

That to-do list includes House Bill 2597 offering compensation to certain businesses forced to close or modify operations early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Another measure, House Bill 2237, contains tax credits to spur rural housing construction in counties with less than 75,000 residents.

“We have had a surplus of over $3 billion and we are not making a priority to pass this tax money back to the Kansas taxpayers,” said Sen. Tyson, who chairs the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee. “I am extremely disappointed. Politics should not get in the way of providing for Kansas citizens, especially in this economy. I pray we will make Kansas taxpayers a priority.”

The tax reform idea capturing attention of average Kansans was deposited in House Bill 2106, which also wasn’t acted upon before the Legislature adjourned for a three-week break. The bill would phase out the state’s 6.5% sales tax on groceries over a three-year period. The state rate would drop to 4% on Jan. 1, 2% on Jan. 1, 2024, and zero on Jan. 1, 2025. City and county sales tax rates wouldn’t be changed.

Or, just repeal it

Gov. Kelly, a Democrat, has continued to campaign for elimination of the state’s 6.5% sales tax on groceries. It’s been at that level since 2015 when former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed legislation raising the state sales tax from 6.15% to 6.5% to bolster the state treasury after aggressive income tax cuts threw the state into a financial quagmire.

Brownback’s income tax cuts were mostly repealed in 2017, but the state’s tax on food remains among the nation’s highest.

In a statement, Gov. Kelly said the state could afford to delete the state’s portion of sales tax on groceries because state government tax receipts “continued their positive pattern.” In March, state revenue from individual and corporate income taxes, retail sales taxes and other sources totaled $680 million. That was $80 million or 13% more than the projection for March based on estimates of fiscal analysts in November.

“These collection numbers demonstrate the ability to axe the food tax, eliminating the state’s sales tax on groceries on July 1, which provides immediate relief to all Kansans,” said Gov. Kelly, who is seeking re-election. “Due to the state’s sales tax on groceries and pandemic-induced inflation, Kansans continue to pay some of the highest grocery prices in the nation.”

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican campaigning for the gubernatorial nomination, also embraced exclusion of groceries from the state sales tax. The pending food sales tax legislation and proposals by Gov. Kelly and Schmidt wouldn’t alter city or county sales tax rates.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/05/kansas-tax-reform-bundle-sent-kelly-amassed-from-shards-of-29-different-bills/.

Republicans face a new kind of legal challenge for cutting up Democratic strongholds in Kansas

The state is heading toward a landmark ruling, regardless of which side the courts take

by Dylan Lysen, KCUR and Kansas News Service

Lawrence, Kansas — This liberal college town is vote-rich territory for Kansas Democrats.

But a new map of congressional districts lumps it with deep-red western Kansas — all but nullifying the ballots of the blue voters here and proving once again the power of gerrymandering.

But a novel legal challenge hopes to upend the usual response of going to federal court to block the political cartographers — in this case, Kansas Republicans — from squeezing out the influence of the opposition party.

Instead, lawsuits rely on state courts and interpretations of the Kansas Constitution, rather than the U.S. Constitution, to stop political parties from putting their fingers on the scale.

In the meantime, the state’s lone Democratic congressional district hangs in the balance.

The ACLU of Kansas is suing to have the state’s recently drawn congressional redistricting map thrown out. The organization argues Republican lawmakers drew the new districts in an attempt to dilute the ballots cast by voters in the Democratic strongholds of Lawrence and Wyandotte County.

If the map holds up, Republicans would improve their chances to place conservative lawmakers in all four districts that represent the state in the U.S. House. Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, who represents the Kansas City area, would be most at risk of losing her seat after seeing part of her base shifted from her district.

Sharon Brett, legal director for ACLU of Kansas, said that would be unfair to voters.

“This is an attempt by politicians to choose their voters,” she said, “rather than have voters choose their politicians.”

But Republican state lawmakers argue the newly drawn districts don’t hurt Davids or any Democratic candidates. They said the changes were needed to account for the growing population in the Kansas City suburbs.

How the courts rule on the case will determine the congressional districts for the next decade, and perhaps the rules for drawing them well beyond that.

Christopher Gunn, a Washburn University law professor who specializes in elections, said legal challenges to gerrymandering have never previously occurred in the state’s judicial system.

“They’ve never had an opportunity to say ‘Yes, the Kansas Constitution does protect individual Kansans from partisan gerrymandering,’” Gunn said. “So we’re going to find out, probably by the end of this year, whether or not that right does exist in Kansas.”

New legal strategy

Historically, legal challenges to redistricting maps occurred under federal law. But lawsuits lately instead make arguments under state constitutions and statutes.

Gunn said that shift in strategy emerged because recent federal court rulings found that political gerrymandering is not an issue they should be deciding. That led to voting rights groups searching elsewhere to make their cases.

The lawsuits in Kansas specifically cite the state constitution as the basis of their challenges. That’s a new legal argument in the state.

“This has never occurred in Kansas before,” Gunn said. “We don’t know what the (Kansas) Supreme Court is going to rule in terms of what the Kansas Constitution does protect in terms of the redistricting process.”

Gunn said the result of the case will be a landmark ruling either way the court decides. It could also set the foundation for prohibiting gerrymandering in Kansas in years to come.

But the case may not end there. If the Kansas courts strike down the maps, it could lead to an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Similar attempts have been tried in disputes in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. But the Supreme Court chose not to take those cases and their state court decisions stayed intact.

But Michael Li — senior counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice, a national nonprofit focused on election policy and voting rights — said some U.S. Supreme Court justices wanted to hear the Pennsylvania and North Carolina cases. He said Kansas could bring the issue to the nation’s highest court.

“A lot of people’s eyes are going to be on Kansas, both to see whether the state courts are willing to be the police force against gerrymandering but also how Kansas might play into this national argument,” Li said.

But how long the cases take to get through the courts may also play into the issue. Gunn said if the Kansas court system does not come to a final ruling on the issue before the candidate registration deadline in June, the map would likely stay in effect for the 2022 elections.

Shifting districts

Under the proposed map, Wyandotte County’s racially diverse voting population would be split into two separate districts — shifting part from the 3rd Congressional District represented by Davids to the 2nd Congressional District by Republican U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner.

Meanwhile, Lawrence would shift from the 2nd District, which covers most of eastern Kansas, into the 1st District which primarily covers central and western Kansas. The new version of the 1st District stretches hundreds of miles from the northeast Kansas college town to the Colorado border nearly 400 miles west.

Brett said those changes are meant to negate Democratic strongholds. Some Lawrence residents see it that way, too.

“The move to gerrymander us into the 1st District was definitely an attempt to quiet the strong Democratic leanings of Lawrence,” Darby Harris said.

Lawrence resident Debbie Milks said the Republican majority of the Kansas Legislature created the map to try to get its party’s candidates elected.

“They, without any shame, just want to elect those of their own and not really care about representing the rest of us,” she said.

ACLU of Kansas and others filed lawsuits on behalf of residents in those districts. A trial for those cases began this week.

Republican push for the map

When the new districts were presented on the floor of the Kansas Senate, Republican leaders argued that the map was fair.

Sen. Rick Wilborn, who is the top Republican serving on the redistricting committee, said the committee needed to split Wyandotte County because of the growing population in Kansas City. He also said Davids would not be hurt by the new map.

“(Davids) would have won the new district just as much as she did before,” Wilborn said. “That’s true of all of the other congressional members. So there’s no attempt to eliminate a Democratic district.”

But Democratic lawmakers disagreed and tried repeatedly to offer a different version of the map that kept Wyandotte County mostly in one piece.

Sen. Dinah Sykes, the highest-ranking Democrat on the redistricting committee, said she knows shifting of the districts needed to occur around Wyandotte County. But she said the redistricting committee settled on a partisan plan intended to raise the clout of some voters and diminish the impact of others.

“Do we want a democracy,” Sykes said, “or do we want someone who has complete and ultimate control over everything in our government?”

Dylan Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanLysen or email him at dlysen (at) kcur (dot) org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-04-05/republicans-face-a-new-kind-of-legal-challenge-for-cutting-up-democratic-strongholds-in-kansas.