Every 10 years, states redraw their political boundaries to meet the needs of the population. For the first time, Colorado will use two independent commissions to draw these lines.
As a civic engagement organization, Voces Unidas is committed to ensuring that the outcome and final maps are equitable for our Latino communities -- one of the fastest growing segments of the population.
This year, Colorado will also get an 8th Congressional district due to a 14.5% growth in population, according to the 2020 U.S. Census. The full scope of the census data has yet to be released, but the idea of an 8th congressional district in Colorado is an opportunity for Coloradoans to send another member to Congress to represent more Coloradoans.
The state and congressional redistricting commissions have heard and will continue to hear from the community so that we have more equitable districts in the state. Voces Unidas is fully engaged at every level of state government so that the result of this process is reflective of the people living in each boundary and not just a political chess move.
Colorado has an obligation to ensure that the boundaries are drawn with accurate representation in mind. The decisions made during this process will inform policy and decisions surrounding our community for the next decade. Therefore, it’s imperative that Colorado gets this right.
The Colorado Independent Congressional and Legislative Redistricting Commissions, created in 2018 through Amendment Y and Z, will draw Colorado's congressional and state legislative districts in 2021.
Full U.S. Census data will be available by September 30, 2021, rather than by March 31, 2021. With this change in scheduling, the redistricting commissions are currently considering a timeline with preliminary maps scheduled for June 23th and June 28th.
With these dates in mind, Voces Unidas is working to elevate the voices of members of the community so that the commissions take into account the needs and wants of our community in a timely and succinct manner.
We regularly inform state officials of the needs and wants of our community. Continuing this dialogue between those affected by the redistricting process and those that make the decisions will be a top priority of ours throughout this process.
There will be opportunities to submit public comments until June 13 for the congressional commission and June 18 for the legislative commission. Public hearings will then begin in July throughout the state, providing us an opportunity to comment both in virtual and in-person spaces. There is no question that Voces Unidas will be present at each step of the process.
We do this work because we expect a redistricting outcome that is a more accurate representation of the people of Colorado.
We remain committed to providing input in the redistricting process as the voices of those that lie in the communities that will be redrawn surely deserve a say in the process.