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Congressional Redistricting in Missouri
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Congressional Redistricting in Missouri
April 28, 2011
By Senator Will Kraus
Every 10 years, the state Legislature is charged with reapportionment, or redistricting, of congressional districts in Missouri . This year’s task was made much more difficult with the loss of one of Missouri ’s nine congressional districts. Last night, the General Assembly approved a new map and sent it to the governor for his signature or veto.
Because there has been a lot of discussion regarding redistricting, and in particular about Jackson County , I wanted to use this week’s Capitol Report to explain the process a little further and address some justified concerns regarding the map.
First, according to the Missouri Constitution, it is the Legislature’s responsibility to draw the congressional district maps. Just like any other bill, we must reach agreement of a majority of our members. All members in the body take this responsibility very seriously. As your elected officials, only we can listen to your voices and make our decisions based on those inputs. However, if we fail to come to an agreement on a map, the task goes to the courts. The courts have no such obligation to you, nor any accountability to you. That is, in my opinion, an unacceptable option.
We also have an even higher hurdle on redistricting this year. Since we had to eliminate a district, the very real possibility exists that the governor will completely disagree with our choices and veto the map. To override that veto and keep the matter out of the courts, we will need an even higher number of votes - 109 votes in the House and 23 in the Senate. To reach those numbers, the map had to appeal to a wide range of legislators.
We heard from many 8th District constituents on this issue, and the responses were actually mixed. Many residents felt that Jackson County should be self-contained in one district. However, at all three of my spring break town halls (held in Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs and Independence) an overwhelming majority of residents wanted to maintain some form of the current split of the county.
For those who are not aware, Jackson County has been split since before most people can remember. The 6th District has been in Jackson County for 20 or 30 years. Having the county split - and having a rural representative - is not new to the county. Many of my constituents strongly support that scenario.
Despite that viewpoint, I voted “no” on the original map that was presented in the Senate due to what I thought was an imperfect split of the county. I hoped that by registering my opposition we might see an alternative split in a conference committee map. However, after weeks of negotiations, the compromise map reflected very little change in Jackson County .
At that point, knowing that the democratic process had been followed and knowing that I did not want to tempt a court decision, I voted for the compromise map. I simply cannot allow judges to draw the map. The map as passed does, in my mind, meet all constitutional requirements and would survive a court challenge.
Like most issues, the redistricting issue is not a black and white one. I have looked at it from every perspective and I am convinced that I voted fairly and in the best interests of District 8.
Please feel free to contact the 8th Senatorial District ’s Capitol office with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 573-751-1464, or e-mail at will.kraus@senate.mo.gov.
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