Attorney General, Derek Schmidt, is aiming to dismiss a third Ad Astra 2 Map Lawsuit filed in Douglas County with an amended petition. Yesterday, he filed an amended petition with the Kansas Supreme Court to ask it to dismiss the latest legal challenge to the newly redrawn Congressional Districts. Schmidt said the lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the Ad Astra 2 Map approved in February by the Kansas Legislature. He had previously asked the court to dismiss the two other suits brought by voters in Wyandotte County.
The Attorney General says bringing the challenges directly to the Kansas Supreme Court would enable expedited decisions, which is needed due to election timelines. He said it also presents the Federal question, which the Douglas and Wyandotte County plaintiffs carefully avoided, whether the U. S. Constitution prohibits Kansas State Courts from entertaining State-Law challenges to Federal Congressional District boundaries. Schmidt also asked the court to rule the Kansas Constitution does not prohibit the Legislature from considering political objectives when drawing Congressional Districts, just as the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled the U. S. Constitution does not.
