Ky. Supreme Court hears arguments over redistricting maps

The Kentucky Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether electoral maps drawn by Republicans during the 2022 redistricting process are constitutional.

The case, brought by the Kentucky Democratic Party, hinges on whether state courts can prohibit partisan gerrymandering – the process where politicians manipulate electoral maps to favor their party through redistricting.

A lower court judge, Franklin Circuit’s Thomas D. Wingate said last year that yes, the maps are gerrymandered, but went on to rule that nothing in the state constitution blocks the political maneuver since the population distributions within each map were roughly equal.

Democrats allege the GOP-drawn electoral maps for the Kentucky House of Representatives and the state’s six Congressional districts unfairly favor Republicans.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the Democratic Party’s lawyer Michael Abate argued that it’s not enough to control population size within districts. He said the partisan nature of the maps violate the constitutional mandate that elections be “free and equal.”

“An election where the outcome is preordained is not free or equal,” Abate said. “We proved that’s not because of Kentucky’s unique political geography. It was an intentional choice by the mapmakers to draw lines to favor Republicans at every turn.”

The Democratic Party argues that statistical models show the voting power of Democrats was systematically diluted under the GOP-drawn maps.