Veto override effort fails over GOP’s redistricting map

Kansas senators failed to override Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of their proposed redistricting map. The override pressure tactic failed with a 24-15 final tally; 27 votes were needed.

February 8, 2022 - 7:55 AM

Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes says legislators could do better than the Ad Astra 2 map. Photo by Sherman Smith / Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Senate President Ty Masterson found inspiration in the 1987 movie “The Princess Bride” on Monday as he urged senators to override the governor’s veto of a GOP-drawn congressional map.

Then, something inconceivable happened.

Despite their GOP supermajority, Republicans failed to gather the 27 votes necessary to override the veto. They deployed a procedural maneuver to hold the chamber under lockdown for hours and force two absent senators to show up and vote. The pressure tactic failed with a 24-15 final tally.

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