TOPEKA — The panel of three federal judges that will draw the Kansas Congressional and legislative boundaries rejected arguments Monday from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to limit input into the process. The Lawrence Journal-World reported U.S. District Court judges Kathryn Vratil, Mary Beck Briscoe and John Lungstrum allowed at least 13 more plaintiffs to join the lawsuit. The lawsuit results could have a big impact on the city of Lawrence, which has been at the center of some of the redistricting disputes, the newspaper noted.. Kobach told the judges he wanted to limit those who can intervene in the case, saying that accepting more plaintiffs might prolong the case and prevent him and other election officials from making absentee ballot deadlines in the run-up to the Aug. 7 primaries, as well as increasing the expense of attorney fees taxpayers might have to pay. The judges rejected Kobach’s arguments and said that while they understand the urgency of the situation, they don’t want to be rushed and they want to hear input from other sources besides Kobach. Following weeks of sometimes savage intraparty feuding, legislators threw up their hands and walked away from redistricting, leaving the redrawing of maps of Congressional, legislative and state board of education districts to the judges. Gov. Sam Brownback and his conservative Republican legislative allies have had hopes of using redistricting to target moderate Republican senators.
Tuesday, May 22, 11 a.m.
