Every ten years, new census data triggers redistricting. Lines are redrawn for Congress, the state legislature, county commissions, school boards, and city councils. Good maps keep communities together so voters choose their leaders. Bad maps can predetermine outcomes and weaken the voices of working people, rural residents, Black and brown Kentuckians, and LGBTQ+ communities. Kentucky redistricting and fair maps are a powerful tool that in the wrong hands, can disenfranchise voters.
Why redistricting shapes fairness
Kentucky redistricting and fair maps start with equal population so each vote carries similar weight. They should be contiguous and reasonably compact, comply with the Voting Rights Act, and respect communities of interest, which are neighborhoods or groups that share ties like schools, economy, transit, or culture. When mapmakers slice a community across multiple districts, it is called cracking. When they cram many of its voters into a single district, it is called packing. Both tactics distort representation, mute constituent service, and reduce accountability, because elected officials feel safe from competition rather than responsive to voters.
What this looks like in everyday life
When mapmakers split a neighborhood into three districts, residents struggle to secure funding for clinics or safer streets because no single official takes responsibility. When they pack parents and students into one school board district, families gain one reliable champion but lose influence across the rest of the board. For LGBTQ+ Kentuckians, dividing supportive precincts buries nondiscrimination priorities, while packing them sidelines those priorities to a single seat. These tactics reduce competition, weaken incentives to listen, and produce policies that drift away from what most people want.
Kentucky redistricting and fair maps decide who holds power before anyone votes. Fair maps keep communities whole so voters choose their leaders. Unfair maps fracture neighborhoods, silence voices, and lock in outcomes. Here is how you can take action, step by step.
3-minute actions – What You Can Do To Fight Kentucky Redistricting and Fair Maps
- Call both U.S. Senators from Kentucky and ask for transparent, community-first redistricting standards.
• Sen. Mitch McConnell (DC): (202) 224-2541.
• Sen. Rand Paul (DC): (202) 224-4343.
If lines are busy, use the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your member. - Call your U.S. House member and make the same ask. If you are not sure who represents you, use the House “Find Your Representative” tool and call the DC office listed.
- Ask for public criteria: equal population, Voting Rights Act compliance, compactness, and protecting “communities of interest” like school zones, transit corridors, and cultural neighborhoods.
- Ask for sunlight: publish draft maps early, post data and shapefiles, and allow real public comment before any vote.
- Share a 3-sentence story. Explain how your area is split or packed and what service suffers because of it. Personal stories get logged and passed to staff.
15-minute actions
- Email all three of your federal offices with the same message and attach a screenshot of your neighborhood on a map.
- Identify your city council, county commission, and school board districts and ask when local lines are reviewed. Many local maps change outside the statewide timeline.
- Submit written testimony that defines your community’s boundaries and shared needs.
- Recruit two neighbors from a different precinct to make the same calls this week.
- Write a short letter to the editor about why competitive, community-based maps matter in your county.
Sample call script
“Hello, my name is ___, I live in ___ County. I am calling about redistricting. I want transparent, public criteria and maps that keep our community together so voters choose their leaders. Please support posting draft maps with data, real time for public comment, and protections for communities of interest. Can I get the office’s position and a reply?”
Who represents Kentucky in Congress
U.S. Senators: Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul.
U.S. Representatives by district: 1 Comer, 2 Guthrie, 3 McGarvey, 4 Massie, 5 Rogers, 6 Barr. If you are unsure which district you are in, use the House lookup tool by ZIP code.
We can help
If you want talking points or a map screenshot for your neighborhood, message our Page and join our Facebook group to coordinate testimony and rides to hearings.
Note: Direct numbers are current as of publication. If a line changes, call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected.
