Kansas AG asking judge to dismiss redistricting lawsuits

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking a Wyandotte County judge to dismiss two lawsuits filed against Kansas officials over new congressional district lines enacted by Republican lawmakers. Schmidt’s request Monday came three days after the Kansas Supreme Court refused to dismiss the lawsuits and another in Douglas County at the Republican attorney general’s request. Democrats and the voting-rights group Loud Light argue that the congressional redistricting law represents partisan and racial gerrymandering and violates the Kansas Constitution. Schmidt and fellow Republicans argue that the new map isn’t gerrymandering and even if it were, state courts have no power under the Kansas Constitution to rule on congressional districts.