Colorado’s 11-member reapportionment committee is meeting today to discuss proposed legislative maps after wrapping up a month-long, statewide listening tour in August.
Like congressional districts, legislative districts are redrawn every decade based on census data and changes in population. publisher Jody Hope Strogoff says the panel will likely meet its October 7th deadline to finalize its plan.
“Then it’s up to the court – and of course we know there will be a trial in mid-October and they have to have their decision in time so that in January when the legislature comes back – they’ll know what districts are be configured,” Strogoff says.
Just how state House and Senate districts are redrawn can impact the legislature's balance of power for the next decade. Senate Democrats currently have a 5-vote advantage while in the house; Republicans have a one-vote edge.