Colorado officials anticipated a diverse group of more than 1,000 applicants would be interested in serving on each of two panels voters created to redraw electoral representation districts. Instead, they got a fraction of that number and a group that does not reflect the diversity of the state. That sparse response has led officials and […]
Amendment Z
Posted inPolitics and Government
Colorado’s new redistricting process needs you — yes, you — to help decide the political districts
By a landslide, Colorado voters decided in 2018 to overhaul the state’s once-a-decade redistricting process. The goal: finally putting an end to the partisan bloodsport known as gerrymandering. Now, the responsibility falls on the same voters to ensure that the reforms work as planned. This month, the state began accepting applications to serve on the […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Amendments Y and Z let us do what’s right instead of fighting about who’s right
There are a lot of ballot measures to consider this year. And I know all too well how overwhelming it can be to keep up with all of the rhetoric about each issue. But two stand out to me as simply making sense for Colorado. Amendments Y and Z aim to put fair and effective […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Armstrong: Amendments Y and Z discriminate against members of Colorado’s minor parties
Gerrymandering undermines democratic institutions. Unfortunately, the Colorado ballot measures intended to fix the problem, Amendments Y and Z, however well-intentioned, are the wrong solution. The measures blatantly discriminate against members of minor parties — 58,219 active voters as of last count — by excluding them from participating in proposed redistricting commissions. Such discrimination is wrong, […]
Posted inNews, Politics and Government
Will two redistricting ballot measures this year put an end to one of Colorado’s longest-running political feuds?
Almost three years ago, former state lawmaker Rob Witwer invited a few other “legislative has-beens” to meet him for lunch on the 16th Street Mall. Witwer, ever the optimist, kicked around his ideas for fixing one of the longest-running, most-divisive battles in politics: the fight over political power itself. The downtown lawyer and father of […]