Kansas's congressional districts

Following the 2000 Census, the State of Kansas retained its four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the redistricting of Kansas's congressional districts by the state legislature was completed in 2002. The number of congressional seats decreased from five to four with the apportionment following the 1990 census and beginning at the start of the 103rd Congress (in 1993). Historically, the state has held as many as eight seats (1893–1933).

Legislative responsibility

In Kansas the state legislature has initial responsibility for drawing the congressional district lines. The Governor has veto power over the plan.

For the 2000 reapportionment process, the guidelines adopted by the House Select Committee on Redistricting and the Senate Committee on Reapportionment (April 25–26, 2001) were as follows:
*Kansas counties and voting districts were the "building blocks" used for drawing district boundaries, using their population reported in the 2000 U.S. Decennial Census as the basis.
*Districts were to be as nearly equal to 672,105 population as practicable, but would attempt to recognize "community of interests".
*Redistricting plans would have neither the purpose nor the effect of diluting minority voting strength.
*Districts would be as compact as possible and contiguous.The "community of interests" was further defined as "social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and economic interests common to the population of the area, which are probable subjects of legislation". It was suggested that the core of the existing districts should be preserved, and, because of their importance as political or socioeconomic units, whole counties should be in the same district to the extent possible.

History

2002 redistricting

Between 1990 and 2000, the population of Kansas grew by 8.5% from 2,477,574 to 2,688,418, making it the 32nd most populated state. All four congressional seats were retained.

Districts

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

District 8

References

* [http://www.kslegislature.org/klrd Kansas Legislative Research Department] (June 19, 2001): "1992 Congressional Districts with selected cities and county populations" ( [http://skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/Redistrct/documents/cong92cities1000upPop11x17.pdf pdf] , 741 kb). "This map is designed to be printed on 11 x 17 inch or larger format paper."
*Kansas Legislative Research Department (July 31, 2002): "Guidelines and Criteria for 2002 Kansas Congressional and Legislative Redistricting", 2 pages ( [http://skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/Redistrct/documents/Guidelines.PDF pdf] ).
*National Committee for an Effective Congress (June 22, 2004) [http://www.ncec.org/redistricting/state9984.html?stateselect=KS] .

ee also

*United States Congressional Apportionment

External links

* [http://www.congress.com/state/ks.html Congress.com: Kansas Congressional districts]