CLC Takes Fight for Fair Maps to Kansas Supreme Court

Kansas City, KS — This afternoon, oral arguments occurred before the Kansas Supreme Court in the Alonzo, et al. v. Schwab case, in a challenge by Campaign Legal Center, the ACLU of Kansas and Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. Paul Smith, senior vice president of Campaign Legal Center, issued the following statement after oral arguments concluded:

“Kansas’ Republican legislators passed a blatantly gerrymandered map that intentionally dilutes the voting power of racial minorities and Democratic voters to serve their political interests instead of the community’s interests. The Kansas Supreme Court must reaffirm what the lower court already determined: Kansas voters of all parties and races deserve to live under fair maps that give every voter an equal voice."

Alonzo, et al. v. Schwab, which was filed on behalf of 11 Kansas voters, alleged that Kansas’ 2022 congressional redistricting plan intentionally dilutes the voting power of racial minorities and constitutes a partisan gerrymander, violating the Kansas Constitution.

In April, a Kansas district court blocked the gerrymandered maps from taking effect and ordered the Kansas Legislature to return to the drawing board to produce fair maps that ensure every voter has an equal voice ahead of the 2022 election. Watch the oral argument before the Kansas Supreme Court here.