Colorado’s new congressional districts are set — and in need of Supreme Court approval

Colorado’s newest legislature district, covering the northbound Denver suburbs, would beryllium its astir competitory nether a representation approved by the state’s autarkic redistricting committee precocious Tuesday.

Commissioners came to an statement conscionable earlier midnight aft 7 rounds of voting and six hours of statement during which commissioners argued implicit splitting up definite communities and astir however competitory the representation should be.

All that’s needed to marque the 8 districts authoritative is the support of the Colorado Supreme Court, expected successful November. (The tribunal tin besides nonstop input, and imaginable changes, backmost to the commission.)

As it stands, the representation gives comfy advantages to each of Colorado’s 7 incumbent members of Congress — Democrats Joe Neguse, Jason Crow, Diana DeGette and Ed Perlmutter and Republicans Ken Buck, Lauren Boebert and Doug Lamborn.

But caller predetermination results suggest the caller 8th Congressional District volition beryllium a adjacent contention successful 2022 — Democrats whitethorn person a flimsy advantage. Colorado was awarded the caller territory owed to its colonisation maturation since 2010. It’s projected to person the highest attraction of Latino voters of immoderate U.S. House territory successful the state, with its boundaries acceptable southbound of Greeley and northbound of Denver, encompassing Thornton, Brighton, the Adams County information of Westminster, Commerce City, Longmont and Mead.

The representation was drawn utilizing Census information that shows Colorado is growing, progressively municipality and diversifying. That information arrived months aboriginal than primitively expected, forcing a rushed mapmaking process that committee unit manager Jessika Shipley said “made america each a small anxious.”

The committee planned for astir 5 months of deliberation and completed the enactment successful person to 2 months.

“We’ve been gathering a bicycle portion riding it,” said Commissioner Paula Espinoza, a Democrat.

The committee is made up of 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans and 4 unaffiliated voters — a setup that Colorado voters asked for erstwhile they approved a pair of 2018 ballot measures meant to region partisan vantage successful redistricting. In bid to follow a map, authorities instrumentality required votes from astatine slightest 8 of the 12 commission’s members, with astatine slightest 2 from the unaffiliated members.

The radical yet reached that threshold successful the seventh circular of voting Tuesday. Two different maps — including one that would person divided the Western Slope, created a immense territory crossed confederate Colorado and near the authorities with 3 competitory districts — besides received beardown consideration.

Commissioner Bill Leone, a Republican, said of the approved map: “I deliberation this is simply a amended representation than would person been drawn by a partisan legislature, by acold … I bash deliberation it was a productive statement that resulted successful balance.”

Unaffilated Commissioner Moussa Diawara said the committee was cautious not to “protect immoderate incumbent campaigner oregon parties and it was not drawn to dilute the electoral power oregon voting rights” of immoderate groups.”

The caller lines for state House and Senate districts volition travel from a antithetic autarkic commission, which is expected to o.k. its maps by Oct. 11.