In 2018, when Colorado Republicans and Democrats worked together to send Amendments Y and Z to voters in an attempt to tamp down the partisanship in the once-in-a-decade redistricting process, the state’s political landscape looked a lot different. The GOP controlled the state Senate, a U.S. Senate seat and the offices of treasurer, secretary of […]
Amendment Y
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Wilson: Here’s Colorado’s most important upcoming battle over redistricting
Years ago, I sat in on a chess game at Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center, and overheard an elder explaining how politicians can choose their own voters. All they had to do was change the boundaries of a district. “Gerrymandering,” he called it. “How undemocratic,” I thought. They can just draw the lines that make up our […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
First draft of Colorado’s new state Senate, House district maps could pit 20 incumbents against each other
Colorado House and Senate district maps drawn as the state begins its once-a-decade redistricting process placed a number of incumbent lawmakers into the same districts, setting the stage for election battles next year. The maps, rough drafts prepared by nonpartisan redistricting staff and presented Tuesday morning to the Colorado Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission, are expected […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Coloradans don’t just want politicians out of the redistricting process. We also want fair maps.
Every Coloradan deserves to have equal representation and a voice in government. And right now, two groups of Coloradans are defining what voice and power you may have for the next decade. In 2018, Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved amendments Y and Z, which created two independent redistricting commissions, and Tuesday the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado Supreme Court tells lawmakers to stay out of redistricting process, but signs off on use of preliminary data
The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an effort by the General Assembly to make changes to this year’s consequential legislative and congressional redistricting process, ruling that it would be unconstitutional for state lawmakers to get involved. Legislative leaders introduced a measure, Senate Bill 247, that would have allowed the commissions to use preliminary U.S. […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado’s county commissions will have guardrails on how they draw commissioner districts under new law
A new state law sets new rules for how powerful Colorado county commissions redraw their political boundaries. It currently applies only to three counties, but would apply to counties with growing populations that opt to expand the number of representatives on their commissions. Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday signed House Bill 1047 into law. The […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado’s independent congressional redistricting commission ousts chair over his social media posts
Danny Moore was removed Monday from his role as the chair of Colorado’s newly-formed Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission following scrutiny of social media posts where he touted unfounded claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election and referred to coronavirus as the “China virus.” Fellow commissioners voted unanimously to remove Moore, a Republican appointed […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado’s county commissions are powerful. A new effort aims to ensure their districts are drawn fairly.
El Paso County isn’t as Republican as it used to be. Unaffiliated voters now make up the largest share of the county’s registered voters at 43%, with Republicans coming in second with 36%. And that has translated into changes at the ballot box. In November, Democrat Joe Biden won nearly 43% of El Paso’s vote, […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado’s congressional, legislative redistricting commissions may start work with old population data
Now that the 12 members of Colorado’s independent legislative and congressional redistricting commissions have been selected, attention is quickly turning toward what to do about the fact the panels won’t have the U.S. Census Bureau data they need to draw new maps until Sept. 30. Gov. Jared Polis, the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Colorado General […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Colorado isn’t expecting the Census data it needs for redistricting until after the new maps are due
The U.S. Census Bureau is warning states that it may not provide the population data they need to redraw congressional and legislative districts until Sept. 30, more than 180 days late and after a deadline enshrined in the Colorado Constitution by which the new political maps must be drawn. The announcement on Friday is a […]