KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas. Rural Miami County is a part of the 3rd Congressional District in Kansas. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Johnson County, Kansas, voters are responding to Senate President Ty Masterson's Monday announcement that his chamber gathered enough signatures to hold a special session on redistricting.
"I feel like it does strongly diminish my voice as a voter," said Tamara Weaver, who cast a ballot on the first day of advance voting in Johnson County. "I think there is a process that is pretty well established in how districting is typically done. And it’s a little bit alarming how it’s kind of been usurped without any good reason. It doesn’t seem to be some logical excuse except some form of cheating."
Weaver isn't the only one questioning the Kansas Legislature's effort to hold a special session on redistricting.
"In an off-census year, I think the gerrymandering effort is really needless," said Margo Mikkelson, who also participated Monday in advance voting.
The state's representation on Capitol Hill is dominated by Republicans. The lone Democrat from Kansas in the House of Representatives is Congresswoman Sharice Davids.
Davids won her seat in the U.S. House in 2018, flipping a seat that had historically been held by Republicans.
She is in her fourth term representing the 3rd District, which covers all of Johnson, Miami, Anderson, Franklin, and a part of Wyandotte County.
In July, President Trump urged Texas to redistrict its state ahead of the 2026 midterm elections to hold the Republican majority in Congress.
It prompted several states to follow suit, including, Missouri and Democrat-led California.
The 3rd District in Kansas was altered in 2022 to give Republican candidates a greater opportunity to win western Kansas. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) survived the effort and has won the seat twice with the new lines.
Senate President Ty Masterson issued a press release on Monday that stated the Senate has gathered enough signatures hold a special session.
"The Kansas Senate Republican caucus has secured the signatures needed to exceed the constitutional threshold, demonstrating strong support for this call for a special session," Senate President Masterson said in a statement. "We're sending a clear message: we're ready to get it done. We look forward to working our agenda to make Kansas and America great again."
Republican leaders are working to bypass Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, to force a special session. Gov. Kelly opposes mid-cycle redistricting and questions its legality.
"Any discussions to institute unprecedented mid-decade redistricting or call a special session should be taking place in public meetings where Kansans can provide input," Gov. Kelly wrote in a statement to KSHB 41. "While President Masterson touts that he has received the required signatures to call a special session, Kansans have yet to see any proposed maps, nor have been given the opportunity to have their voices heard.”
The Kansas Constitution permits lawmakers to force a special session by gathering petition signatures from both legislative chambers. The GOP lawmakers must acquire two-thirds support. The House has yet to acquire two-thirds support.
Park University Associate Professor of Political Science Matt Harris questions if Kansas GOP lawmakers have the political will to get the petition to the finish line.
"The Republicans have the numbers if they hold together," Harris said. "I think the question is, do they have that political will and the unity to push this. Not only is Governor Kelly not going to call the special session, so you have to get the two-thirds to call the special session, but also she can veto any map that comes out. You’re probably going to need the supermajority to override her veto as well."
On Monday, Johnson County voters questioned how legislators could make the maps more equal.
"I can’t see a way that it would be made more equal in Johnson County," Weaver said. "I don’t know what can be done other than try to clamp, or exclude, make it difficult, for voters who voted in a fair election to not be included."
Harris is also curious on how to break up Johnson County, explaining this has already been done, and Rep. Davids won by 10% or more in the last two elections.
"In order to make a district more Republican, you have to make some others more Democratic," Harris explained.
In a CNN interview with Dana Bash earlier this month, Rep. Davids pushed back on California's effort to pass Proposition 50, a ballot measure that would gerrymander the state to benefit Democrats.
"I wish we weren't in this whole thing at all, that Donald Trump hadn't kicked this thing off," Davids said.
The fate of the November 7 special session is in the hands of Kansas House Republicans.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins has not announced if there is enough support in the House, according to a report from the Kansas Reflector.
"There are many crucial issues percolating that require a special session,” Hawkins told the Kansas Reflector. “Unlike Democrats in Congress, Kansas Republicans are committed to doing their jobs, regardless of the time of year.”
Kansas Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Skyes criticized GOP leadership in a statement on Monday. She said her colleagues across the aisle are comfortable spending $460,000 taxpayer dollars to fund a special session Kansans aren't calling for.
"Kansans are concerned about is the cost of groceries, access to health care, property taxes, and rising political violence," Sykes wrote. "And they deserve elected officials who are focused on addressing those issues, not scoring political points with the White House."
Harris said he believes the clock is ticking for Kansas legislators to pass new district lines.
"Because if you’re trying to do this for next November, you gotta get it done legislatively and get through the various court challenges and the various things that Missouri is dealing with right now," he said.
People Not Politicians Missouri, a group gathering signatures to repeal the state's new district lines is doing their part by December 11.
In a press release on its website on Monday, the group said it has gathered 150,000 signatures across 115 counties.
"Every attack from politicians trying to silence us brings us more volunteers and more support," Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri and a veteran of more than 10 statewide initiative petition campaigns, wrote in a statement. "This referendum will qualify and Missourians — not politicians — will decide the future of fair representation in our state.”
There's also some legal battles happening across Missouri.
KSHB 41 attended a town hall on Sunday afternoon in Johnson County, Kansas, where residents voiced their concerns to their state lawmakers about redistricting.
The state lawmakers told the attendees they are unsure of a timeline for when GOP lawmakers must submit the petition.
"Constituents here in Johnson County are trying to raise a voice as well," said Johnson County voter Margo Mikkelson. "So I hope they take that into consideration. I really think the way things stand right now in Kansas are solid. I think people’s voices are being heard with the districts just as they stand."
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