A referred amendment to article V, section 44 of the Colorado Constitution to change the way that the state’s congressional district maps are redrawn following the census.
Currently under the Colorado Constitution, the state legislature is responsible for dividing the state into its seven congressional districts following the census. Failure to complete the map results in court intervention. This proposal transfers authority to redraw congressional maps from the legislature to an Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission as defined above.
The Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court designates a panel of three of the most recently retired judges from the Colorado Supreme Court or Court of Appeals to facilitate selection of commissioners.
Applicants for commissioners must be registered voters who are screened by nonpartisan legislative staff. The final 12 commissioners are selected from the pool of qualified applicants: Some are recommended by the state legislative leadership; some selected by lottery and reviewed by the retired judge panel and some selected by the judicial panel.
The composition of the commission is meant to reflect the state’s racial, ethnic, gender and geographic diversity and must include representation from each congressional district.
This proposal adds criteria for the commission to follow when adopting a map, which includes preserving communities of interest and maximizing the number of competitive districts. It must follow the federal requirement that states redraw their districts to be equal in population and adhere to the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, requiring that a minority group’s voting strength not be diluted in a redistricting plan. Maps cannot be drawn for the purpose of protecting incumbents, candidates or political parties.
There is a requirement for public hearings to be held in each congressional district to receive public input before the commission approves a redistricting map as well as opportunities for public input online.
The Colorado Supreme Court reviews and ultimately approves the final map adopted by the commission.
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning a change to the way that congressional districts are drawn, and, in connection therewith, taking the duty to draw congressional districts away from the state legislature and giving it to an independent commission, composed of twelve citizens who possess specified qualifications; prohibiting any one political party's control of the commission by requiring that one-third of commissioners will not be affiliated with any political party, one-third of the commissioners will be affiliated with the state's largest political party, and one-third of the commissioners will be affiliated with the state's second largest political party; prohibiting certain persons, including professional lobbyists, federal campaign committee employees, and federal, state, and local elected officials, from serving on the commission; limiting judicial review of a map to a determination by the supreme court of whether the commission or its nonpartisan staff committed an abuse of discretion; requiring the commission to draw districts with a focus on communities of interest and political subdivisions, such as cities and counties, and then to maximize the number of competitive congressional seats to the extent possible; and prohibiting maps from being drawn to dilute the electoral influence of any racial or ethnic group or to protect any incumbent, any political candidate, or any political party?