As a Kentucky state senator, Ralph Alvarado voted in January 2022 for Senate Bill 3, the state's new congressional map, and House Bill 2, its new state House map, and then voted to override Governor Andy Beshear's vetoes of both. Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate later wrote that "there is no doubt" the new boundaries were "partisan gerrymanders," though he ruled that the Kentucky Constitution did not forbid them.
The congressional map took Franklin County, home of the state capital, Frankfort, out of the central Kentucky district Alvarado is now running to represent. The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed Wingate's decision in December 2023, so the maps stand for future elections.
What It Cost: Frankfort, Split Counties and Kentucky Voters Under the Maps Ralph Alvarado Voted For
- Frankfort's voters were moved from central Kentucky's 6th District into a district based in western Kentucky. The congressional map stretched the 1st District, a Republican stronghold based mostly in western Kentucky, to take in Franklin County and its Democratic-leaning capital city of Frankfort, the Associated Press reported. Judge Wingate acknowledged that the 1st District's boundaries were "unusual and not compact." Franklin County voters now share a member of Congress with western Kentucky instead of with their central Kentucky neighbors in the 6th District.
- Kenton County was cut into six state House districts and Pike County into four. In a partial dissent from the Kentucky Supreme Court's 2023 decision, Justice Michelle Keller wrote that 18 counties were "split multiple times" under the House map and contained "three or more districts," which does not respect "county integrity." She pointed to Kenton County in Northern Kentucky, "unnecessarily carved into 6 districts," and Pike County, split three times into four districts, NKyTribune noted in an editor's note to its republication of the Kentucky Lantern's story.
Ralph Alvarado's Votes for Kentucky's 2022 Congressional and State House Maps
- Alvarado Voted for the Congressional Map That Moved Frankfort Out of the 6th District. On January 6, 2022, state Senator Ralph Alvarado voted for Senate Bill 3, Kentucky's new congressional map, which passed the Kentucky Senate 28 to 4, and on January 20, 2022 he voted to override Governor Beshear's veto, 26 to 8. In his November 2022 ruling, Judge Wingate found the maps were "partisan gerrymanders" but held that the state constitution "does not explicitly forbid the consideration of partisan interests in apportioning representation." The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed his decision in an opinion published on December 14, 2023, upholding the map for future elections.
- Alvarado Voted for the State House Map the Same Ruling Covered. On January 8, 2022, Ralph Alvarado voted for House Bill 2, the new map for the Kentucky House of Representatives, which passed the state Senate 23 to 10, and on January 20, 2022 he voted to override the governor's veto of it, 24 to 10. Wingate's gerrymandering finding applied to House Bill 2 as well as the congressional map. In November 2022, the first election under the new House map, several Democratic state House members lost their seats after Republican-friendlier territory was added to their districts; Beshear said those seats were in districts "gerrymandered significantly and intentionally."
Frequently Asked Questions About Ralph Alvarado on Ralph Alvarado and Kentucky's 2022 redistricting maps
What is Ralph Alvarado's record on redistricting in Kentucky?
Ralph Alvarado voted for Kentucky's 2022 congressional and state House maps and to override Governor Andy Beshear's vetoes of both. A Franklin Circuit judge found both maps were partisan gerrymanders but ruled that the state constitution allowed them, and the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed that decision in December 2023.
What did the Kentucky Supreme Court say about the maps Ralph Alvarado voted for?
The Kentucky Supreme Court in December 2023 affirmed Judge Thomas Wingate's decision upholding the maps Ralph Alvarado voted for, which Wingate had found were the result of "partisan gerrymanders." Justice Christopher Shea Nickell wrote that "any comprehensive remedy for the deleterious effects of partisan gerrymandering must be addressed through the political process."
How did Ralph Alvarado's redistricting vote change the 6th District?
The congressional map Ralph Alvarado voted for moved Franklin County out of the 6th District. The Associated Press reported in November 2022 that the change would likely make it harder for Democratic candidates to win what had been a swing district, the seat Alvarado is now seeking.
Last updated: 2026-10-26