A move to keep Junction City and Fort Riley together in the 2nd Congressional District could have an effect on where Lawrence is split, officials said Wednesday.

Junction City and Manhattan officials were set to meet today with Gov. Bill Graves and urge him to veto the congressional map approved earlier this month by the Legislature.

That map would place Junction City in the 1st Congressional District with western Kansas, separating it from Fort Riley. The U.S. Army base would remain in the 2nd District.

“It just doesn’t make much sense to take Junction City away from Fort Riley,” said state Rep. Bill Levinson, D-Junction City.

Though the fight is about Junction City, a change could affect Lawrence.

Under the same congressional map, Lawrence was split between two districts along Iowa Street, with the area west of Iowa going into the 2nd District and the area east of Iowa remaining in the 3rd.

If Junction City and its population comes back into the 2nd District, that could mean more of Lawrence could be pushed into the 3rd District to keep populations equal.

One of the maps being considered would move the dividing line farther west to Kasold Drive, according to state Sen. Lana Oleen, R-Manhattan. Oleen said she wanted Graves to veto the map.

Lawmakers redrew district lines this session using new population data from the 2000 Census.

Graves had said he was unhappy with splitting Junction City and Fort Riley between two districts. But he refused to say whether he would veto the map. Graves has until Sunday to sign the map into law or veto it.

If Graves vetoed the plan today, that would give lawmakers one last chance to come up with a new proposal Friday, the day reserved for the official end to the 2002 legislative session.

But if Graves vetoed the plan over the weekend, it would be left to the U.S. District Court for Kansas to review proposals and select a plan.

Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, the state’s chief election official, said in the event of a veto, he would recommend a map to the court, but hadn’t decided on one yet.

Oleen said some governors have vetoed plans and then submitted several preferred plans for judicial consideration. Even if Graves doesn’t veto the plan, it may be challenged in court by Junction City officials. But a map approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor would be regarded more positively by the court, Thornburgh said.