Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly speaks at a ceremony at which 30 immigrants from 18 nations take the oath to become U.S. citizens, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kansas. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

As Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly responds to rumors of Republican legislators planning to call a special session for mid-decade redistricting, a pair of Lawrence elected officials said they would fight the effort.

Kelly issued a press release this week in response to reports that Republican legislative leaders were considering calling for a special session that would draw new maps that could create four Republican-leaning districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. The special session would likely split Johnson County, currently located in the 3rd District, and represented by Rep. Sharice Davids, the state’s lone Democrat at the federal level.

Kelly urged the state’s Republican lawmakers to not move forward with the plan at all, but certainly not without first holding public hearings across the state, which was the process used when redistricting last occurred in the state.

“Kansans must be offered the opportunity to express their opinions directly to their representatives, as they have during previous redistricting processes,” Kelly said in a statement.

Republican Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson previously said in a statement he would consider redistricting “as a part of the bigger battle for the heart and soul of the country.”

The potential mid-decade redistricting being floated in Kansas mirrors recent moves by Republican-led state legislatures in Texas and Missouri, which also held special sessions to draw new maps that looked to create more Republican-leaning seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Those changes were advocated by President Donald Trump. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom also is attempting a mid-decade redistricting effort in his solidly Democratic state in response to the redistricting activities in those Republican states.

A special legislative session can be called by the governor or by a petition signed by two-thirds of the legislators in each house of the Kansas Legislature. Kelly said she would not call for the special session — which she called an “an unprecedented departure” from the normal process — but Republicans could have enough lawmakers willing to sign a petition to force a special section.

State Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, told the Journal-World she doesn’t believe redrawing the maps is necessary. During the last redistricting cycle in 2022, Lawrence was redrawn from the 2nd District into the 1st District, which spreads all the way across the western part of the state. Multiple groups challenged the map in court, but eventually the Kansas Supreme Court upheld the maps in May 2022.

Ballard said she was a part of a group of legislators that toured the state and asked residents what they wanted. She said no residents said anything about moving Lawrence’s district, and yet it was put in the conservative-leaning 1st District. Ballard said the Republican supermajority “did their damage” to “gerrymander and divide” the maps to their advantage.

Those types of splits are nothing new, Ballard said. In previous maps, Douglas County was split along Iowa Street, with the eastern portion in the 3rd District and the west in the 2nd District. But she feels this attempt to again redraw the maps is “worrisome” and seems like a response to political pressure.

“This is more of a Washington thing,” Ballard said.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

State Rep. Barbara Ballard was among the members of the crowd at the 17th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Breakfast on Jan. 15, 2024 at Maceli’s Banquet Hall in downtown Lawrence.

State Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, said she agreed with Kelly’s response, and is especially concerned that there is no new data that could guide the redrawing of the maps. She also felt the call for redistricting is unnecessary and a partisan move.

“This is something that does not need to be done, and it’s just done to benefit the Republican majority,” Francisco said.

Kelly also said in her statement there should be a “robust public comment period” from Johnson County — the community most likely to be affected by the change. Francisco said lawmakers also should host sessions in Douglas County, since the county is currently split between two congressional districts. Francisco noted the split makes it more complicated for the public to know who their representative is, and the size of the district makes it difficult for the representative to meet with constituents.

Francisco also noted that if a special session is called that it would “not be cheap,” especially if listening sessions or town halls are held. She finds it surprising that the cost issue hasn’t received more attention, since Republican legislators previously said they “need to do things to reduce the budget.”

The Journal-World reached out to Republican State Sen. Beverly Gossage, who represents Eudora as well as portions of Johnson County, and Republican State Sen. Rick Kloos, whose district covers parts of west Lawrence and Shawnee County, to ask if they would support the redistricting process or call for a special session. They did not respond prior to print time.