Editing Lawrence, Kansas (section)

==Government==
{{see also|List of mayors of Lawrence, Kansas}}
[[File:Lawrence City Hall.JPG|thumb|City Hall]]
[[File:Douglas county kansas courthouse.jpg|thumb|The Douglas County Courthouse]]

Lawrence is run by a city commission and city manager. Commissioners consists of five individuals elected by the citizens. Three commissioner seats are up for reelection every two years. The two top vote-getters receive a four-year term, third-place finisher receives a two-year term. The commission elects a mayor and vice-mayor every year in April, usually the two top vote-getters, and also hires the city manager.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lawrenceks.org/city_commission|title=Lawrence City Commissioners|access-date=August 8, 2018|publisher=City of Lawrence, KS}}</ref> Lawrence uses [[plurality-at-large voting]] (also known as block voting) for its municipal elections, whereby voters may choose up to three candidates for office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apps.douglascountyks.org/mycounty/voting-and-elections/docs/sampleballots/sampleballots_gen_2017.pdf|title=2017 General Election Douglas County, Kansas Sample Ballot|access-date=May 25, 2019}} The 2017 Douglas County, Kansas General Election sample ballot, which shows the multi-choice voting.</ref>

While [[Kansas]] is a heavily [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] state, Lawrence is often considered a bastion of the modern [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], and has been since the late 1980s. Douglas County, where Lawrence is situated, was one of only two counties in Kansas whose majority voted for [[John Kerry]] in the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]], one of only three that voted for [[Barack Obama]] in the 2008 election and one of the only two counties to vote for [[Hillary Clinton]] in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]]. Douglas County has supported the Democratic candidate for the past nine presidential elections.<ref>For election results, see– {{cite web |editor=Leip, David |title=1992 Presidential General Election Data Graphs |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/datagraph.php?year=1992&fips=20&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=US Election Atlas}}

* {{cite web |editor=Leip, David |title=1996 Presidential General Election Data Graphs |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/datagraph.php?year=1996&fips=20&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=US Election Atlas}}
* {{cite web |editor=Leip, David |title=2000 Presidential General Election Data Graphs |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/datagraph.php?year=2000&fips=20&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=US Election Atlas}}
* {{cite web |editor=Leip, David |title=2004 Presidential General Election Data Graphs |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/datagraph.php?year=2004&fips=20&f=1&off=0&elect=0 |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=US Election Atlas}}
* {{cite web |year=2008 |title=2008 General Election Results |url=http://apps.douglascountyks.org/mycounty/voting-and-elections/docs/electionresults/electionresults_general_2008.pdf |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=[[Douglas County, KS]]}}
* {{cite web |year=2012 |title=2012 General Election Results |url=http://apps.douglascountyks.org/mycounty/voting-and-elections/docs/electionresults/electionresults_general_2012.pdf |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=[[Douglas County, KS]]}}
* {{cite web |year=2016 |title=2016 General Election Results |url=http://apps.douglascountyks.org/mycounty/voting-and-elections/docs/electionresults/electionresults_general_2016.pdf |access-date=August 8, 2018 |publisher=[[Douglas County, KS]]}}
* Election Night Results (livevoterturnout.com)</ref>

Lawrence is served by Democratic state representatives [[Christina Haswood]], [[Mike Amyx]], [[Barbara Ballard]] and [[Dennis Highberger]], and by state senators [[Marci Francisco]] (Democrat), [[Tom Holland (politician)|Tom Holland]] (Democrat), and [[Rick Kloos]] (Republican). Lawrence is represented federally by Republican [[Tracey Mann]] of the [[Kansas's 1st congressional district|1st]] and U.S. Senators [[Roger Marshall]] and [[Jerry Moran]], both Republicans. Prior to 2002, Lawrence sat entirely within the [[Kansas's 3rd congressional district|3rd district]] until reapportionment split Lawrence between the 2nd and 3rd districts. In 2012, Lawrence was placed entirely within the 2nd district.<ref name="ljworld3">{{cite web|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2012/jun/08/voters-will-see-big-changes-new-redistricting-plan/|title=Voters Will See Big Changes from new Redistricting Plan|publisher=www2.ljworld.com|access-date=November 10, 2014|author=Rothschild, Scott|date=June 8, 2012}}</ref> In 2022, the Kansas State Legislature moved Lawrence into the [[Kansas's 1st congressional district|1st district]] after legal challenges failed in the [[Kansas Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bahl |first=Andrew |title=As Supreme Court makes Kansas congressional map permanent, it also locks in political changes |url=https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/05/31/kansas-supreme-court-ruling-ends-redistricting-opens-door-gerrymandering-congressional-map/9826593002/ |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=The Topeka Capital-Journal |language=en-US}}</ref>

Lawrence was the first city in Kansas to enact an ordinance prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (enacted in 1995, after a campaign called [[Simply Equal]]). On October 4, 2011, Lawrence became the first city in Kansas to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity with the passage of City Ordinance No. 8672.<ref name="Lawrence Ord 8672">{{cite web|url=https://lawrenceks-my.sharepoint.com/personal/webmaster_lawrenceks_org/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebmaster%5Flawrenceks%5Forg%2FDocuments%2Fwebsite%2FOrdinancesResolutions%2FOrdinances%2FOrdinances%2D8600s%2FOrd8672%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebmaster%5Flawrenceks%5Forg%2FDocuments%2Fwebsite%2FOrdinancesResolutions%2FOrdinances%2FOrdinances%2D8600s&cid=e854bad2-d248-42cd-be2b-da0801d8bb1e|title=Ordinance No. 8672|publisher=City of Lawrence|access-date=May 24, 2019|date=October 4, 2011}}Lawrence City Ordinance No. 8672, on anti-discrimination.</ref> The effort to pass the GIO was led by Scott Criqui from the Kansas Equality Coalition. Scott Criqui would go on to become the first openly gay candidate to run for office and win a primary in Lawrence. Douglas County was the only county in Kansas to reject the [[2005 Kansas Amendment 1|amendment]] to the Kansas Constitution prohibiting both [[gay marriage]] and [[civil unions]] in April 2005.<ref>For election results, see section "2005 Election Information" and choose "2005 Constitutional Amendment Results by County (Excel)." on- {{cite web|url=http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html|title=Election Statistics|publisher=Kansas Secretary of State|access-date=June 6, 2019}} 
* To immediately download the results, see-http://www.kssos.org/elections/05elec/2005_Constitutional_Amendment_results_by_county.xls</ref> The vote against the amendment was primarily in the city of Lawrence; outside the city in the rest of Douglas County, the amendment carried. Lawrence has an active chapter of the [[Kansas Equality Coalition]], which persuaded the city commission to approve a domestic partner registry on May 22, 2007. The registry, which took effect on August 1, 2007, provides unmarried couples —both same-sex and other-sex— some recognition by the city for legal purposes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lawhorn|first=Chad|title=Domestic Partnership Registry Opens Today|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/aug/01/domestic_partnership_registry_opens_today/ |access-date=February 18, 2014|newspaper=[[Lawrence Journal-World]]|date=August 1, 2007}}</ref>