Press Room

Democrats introduce map to create fair and competitive Colorado congressional districts

Thursday, April 28 2011

“Competitive districts will prevent ‘Congressmen for life’ in Colorado”

DENVER— Today, Senator Rollie Heath (D-Boulder) introduced the first official redistricting map to create fair, competitive congressional districts and protect communities of interest in Colorado. The map was introduced as legislators take on the constitutionally mandated task of redrawing Colorado’s congressional lines every 10 years following the decennial census.

Senator Heath offered the following comment on the map introduced today:

"Today we introduced a map that honors our charge to create districts that give Coloradans the best congressional representation possible. I co-chaired the historic joint select redistricting committee. That committee traveled the state listening to folks who said they want fair and competitive districts--districts that don’t create congressmen or congresswomen for life. The map introduced today creates fair, competitive districts that will allow voters to hold their representatives accountable."

Competitive districts are good public policy. A district is competitive when there are a balanced number of Republicans, Independents and Democrats. In a balanced district, a candidate from either party can be elected. Competitive districts allow voters to better hold elected officials accountable. Voter registration in the state shows that Colorado’s electorate does not overwhelmingly favor one party over the other, and nearly one-third of the population isn’t registered with either party at all. That is the reason competitive districts make sense for Colorado.

The map introduced by Democrats today demonstrates their commitment to drawing competitive districts. This commitment comes from the work of the historic redistricting committee that was formed to guide the redistricting process. Coloradans told legislators that they want competitive congressional districts so they can hold their representatives accountable and prevent the creation of congressmen for life.

The map proposed by Democrats today reflects the following principles:

1. Provides for equal populations among districts
2. Follows the federal and state law
3. Maintains communities of interest
4. Preserves political subdivisions
5. Assures Competitiveness

Below is a copy of the map introduced today. The chart below shows the voter registration by district.

(Click to enlarge map)