Flickr photo by Jimmy Emerson
The Kansas House has passed a map redrawing districts for the state’s 40 senators. The House broke with tradition when it rejected a map the Senate drew. Generally, chambers draw maps for their own districts without input from the other chamber. The contention this year led the top Democrat in the House, Paul Davis of Lawrence, to offer an amendment to overhaul the redistricting process. It would have created a non-partisan commission to draw redistricting maps. Davis said it would also set deadlines for the process.
Some House members questioned if the change is needed. Clay Aurand (ARE-and) is a Republican from Belleville.
The House rejected the proposal, but did approve the overall bill. That vote sends the legislation to the Senate.