Kansas Democrat Proposes Constitutional Limits on Redistricting
State Senate resolution would ban mid-decade map changes amid national partisan battle
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas state senator introduced a constitutional amendment Tuesday that would prohibit the Legislature from redrawing congressional and legislative district boundaries except after each decennial census or by court order, a measure that faces steep odds in the Republican-controlled chamber.
Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat running for governor, filed Senate Concurrent Resolution 1618 on the sixth day of the 2026 legislative session. The proposed amendment would establish specific requirements for redistricting, including mandates that districts be contiguous and compact, that they not dilute minority voting strength, and that population deviations not exceed 5% for state legislative districts. The measure comes after Kansas Republicans attempted to call a special session in November 2025 to redraw the state's four U.S. House districts to benefit GOP candidates, an effort that failed to gain sufficient support.
The proposal reflects a national trend of redistricting battles playing out across state legislatures as both parties jockey for electoral advantage. Since July 2025, five states — California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — have enacted new congressional maps between decennial censuses, marking one of the largest coordinated mid-decade redistricting efforts in modern American history, according to Ballotpedia. Democrats in Virginia passed a similar constitutional amendment this month allowing temporary bypass of that state's bipartisan redistricting commission, with plans for an April referendum.
But Holscher's resolution faces virtually insurmountable obstacles in Kansas, where Republicans hold a 31-9 supermajority in the state Senate. Constitutional amendments require two-thirds approval in both chambers — 27 votes in the Senate — meaning 18 Republicans would need to support restricting their party's redistricting options.
The GOP push for mid-decade redistricting collapsed in November after House Speaker Dan Hawkins said the chamber was "in excess of 20 votes short" and that many members "don't agree with doing redistricting midterm," according to news reports. Senate President Ty Masterson said the Senate could pass a redistricting bill and override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto but wouldn't proceed without House support.
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