Jan. 20, 12:28pm Updates with further details
Republican Jerry Miller of Louisville on Wednesday filed House Bill 323 proposing to change the primary election from May to August. Miller is chairman of the House Standing Committee on State Government and one of the chief architects of the redistricting plan. The bill was given emergency status.
Miller told the Louisville Courier-Journal today that his billed was filed as a preparatory measure in case legal action threatens redistricting plans that have already passed the Senate and House, yet were voted yesterday by Gov. Andy Beshear.
Beshear vetoed two Republican-led bills to redraw maps for U.S. Congressional and Kentucky House districts.
The Democrat governor accused the GOP of political gerrymandering in his veto message. Both measures overwhelmingly cleared the legislature earlier this month.
Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of the General Assembly and say they have plenty of support to overrider the governor's veto. That move is anticipated to come very soon since the election filing deadline, extended earlier this month, is now set for Tuesday, Jan. 25.
The redistricting map has created a great deal of interest in Crittenden County, which will go from District 4 to District 12, potentially pitting two GOP incumbents – Lynn Bechler and Jim Gooch – against one another in the May primary.
Gov. Beshear has not vetoed the Kentucky Senate redistricting plan, SB 2, but has until midnight to do so.
