The Goldenrod's Legislative Superlatives, January 17-21

The week of the Zoom hot mic heard 'round the commonwealth.

It’s time for this week’s installment of The Goldenrod’s legislative superlatives, which will run each Friday for paid subscribers only through the end of session. Have a friend who would enjoy these not-so-prestigious accolades? Encourage them to sign up using our January-only discount code:

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Most Likely To Fail a Cartography Class: Republican State Legislators
Let’s be real: the redistricting process in Kentucky often goes off the rails, whether that manifests as the people in charge not quite understanding how to do it correctly—as was Kentucky’s case after the 2010 census—or individuals conspiring to purposefully gerrymander districts to their own end. Or, you know, both.

This time around, Republicans lawmakers took their sweet, sweet time drawing up some pretty bizarre-looking maps under a veil of secrecy, then hurriedly released them, causing quite a bit of outrage from anyone who still has a speck of hope that fair elections could exist in the state for the next decade.

Just how poorly were the maps redrawn, do you say? Well, the U.S. Congressional map now includes Kentucky’s far-western tip, Fulton County, and Franklin County in the same district—despite the fact that they’re four hours away from each other. It’s also hard not to notice that this particular district is shaped sort of like a middle finger: