Dear Editor,
Redistricting efforts for Colorado’s congressional and state legislative districts are underway. Which districts are best for Chaffee County? Let your voice be heard.
The League of Women Voters Chaffee County encourages local residents to become informed and involved by submitting comments and/or testifying before the redistricting commissions. Your comments concerning congressional redistricting need to be submitted via the commission’s website by June 13 and any comments regarding the state legislative districts by June 18.
Congressional Representative Doug Lamborn. Photo courtesy of KRDO.
There are rigorous federal and state constitutional criteria that must be met including, community interests, public policy concerns, similar populations, and geography. Your voice can be heard by using the Colorado website redistricting.colorado.gov. At this site, you can learn details about the process, submit public comments using a web form, email comments, submit maps you’ve drawn using a web mapping program, and testify during the public comment period. In addition, lwvchaffeecounty.org and lwvcolorado.org websites have detailed information about the redistricting commissions and the process.
Redistricting changed in 2018, when Colorado citizens voted for Amendments Y & Z to end gerrymandering and take redistricting out of the partisan legislature. These amendments established two independent commissions made up of 12 randomly selected members (4 Democrats, 4 Independents and 4 Republicans).
One commission will determine the U. S. Congressional District (currently Congressional District 5, represented by Doug Lamborn). The other commission will draw the Colorado state senate and house districts. Chaffee is presently in Colorado Senate District 5, represented by Kerry Donovan and Colorado House District 61, represented by Ron Hanks.
Be informed. Be involved. Submit your comments.
LWV Chaffee County Leadership Team
Marjie Gray, Carol Merovka, Scott Hartman, Barb Brady, Marilyn Box,
Susanna Spaulding, Jan Scar, Karen Dils, Judy Edmands, Kate Shea
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