Colorado’s redistricting process could change the state’s balance of power and redraw its political landscape, splitting apart some voting blocs and creating new political neighbors.
The commissions have already published draft maps for the state legislature and Congress, including Colorado’s new U.S. House district. They’ve also collected more than 1,000 written comments.
Starting Friday, they’ll come face to face with the public in a tour that will stop in 32 communities around the state. It starts in eastern Colorado with a 7 p.m. hearing in Lamar, followed by events in Burlington and Sterling on Saturday.
Next week, the hearings head to the Front Range, with events in Arvada, Denver and Fort Collins. A full schedule and more information are available at the state’s redistricting site. Anyone planning to speak is encouraged to sign up ahead of time. People can also submit a written comment. Comments made in Spanish and other languages will be translated for the commissions, according to staff.
Read on to learn about how to explore the maps and for a list of the public hearings.
Know before you go:
The draft maps are available in several different formats, but take a look at the interactive versions for the state House, the state Senate and the U.S. House.
Those maps can be a little overwhelming, especially since the state legislative districts have been assigned new numbers. To get a sense of how an area is changing, start by zooming in. Then, you can use the “layers” option in the interactive tool to look at the current lines and the proposed changes.
For example, here’s the view of the current House District 27 in Arvada. (Open the “layers” menu by clicking the stack of squares on the left-hand menu.)
And here it is with the new proposed districts, showing how the area’s been split in half:
The maps section of the state website also includes memos about how these proposed districts would look in terms of population demographics, size, expected election results and more.
The schedule:
Here’s the schedule as of July 9. Check the full schedule for updates and location details. Another set of hearings will follow the publication of another set of draft maps later this year.
- July 9, 7 p.m. in Lamar
- July 10, 11 a.m. in Burlington
- July 10, 7 p.m. in Sterling
- July 13, 7 p.m. in Arvada
- July 14, 7 p.m. in Denver
- July 17, 12 p.m. in Fort Collins
- July 20, 7 p.m. in Lakewood
- July 21, 7 p.m. in Englewood
- July 23, 7 p.m. in Steamboat Springs
- July 24, 11 a.m. in Craig
- July 27, time TBD in Denver
- July 28, 7 p.m. in Aurora
- July 30, 11 a.m. in Montrose
- July 30, 7 p.m. in Grand Junction
- July 31, 11 a.m. in Carbondale
- July 31, 7 p.m. in Frisco
- Aug. 3, time TBD in Centennial
- Aug. 4, 7 p.m. in Golden
- Aug. 6, time TBD in Trinidad
- Aug. 6, time TBD in Alamosa
- Aug. 7, time TBD in Ignacio
- Aug. 10, time TBD in Longmont
- Aug. 11, time TBD in Boulder
- Aug. 14, time 12 p.m. in Greeley
- Aug. 18, time TBD in Highlands Ranch
- Aug. 20, 11 a.m. in Woodland Park
- Aug. 20, time TBD in Pueblo
- Aug. 21, time TBD in Cañon City
- Aug. 21, 7 p.m. in Buena Vista
- Aug. 24, 7 p.m. in Commerce City
- Aug. 25, time TBD in Brighton
- Aug. 28, time TBD in Colorado Springs
