Colorado Redistricting of State Legislative Districts Initiative (2018)

Colorado Redistricting of State Legislaitve Districts Initiative
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Redistricting measures
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens
List of Colorado measuresColorado Amendment AColorado Amendment VColorado Amendment WColorado Amendment XColorado Amendment YColorado Amendment ZColorado Amendment 73Colorado Amendment 74Colorado Amendment 75Colorado Proposition 109Colorado Proposition 110Colorado Proposition 111Colorado Proposition 112Submit

The Colorado Redistricting of State Legislative Districts Initiative (#48, #67, #68) was not on the ballot in Colorado as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018.

The measure was designed to amend sections 47 and 48 of the Colorado State Constitution to prohibit the drawing of state legislative district lines to purposefully advantage or disadvantage any political party or person. Redistricting plans would have been designed and approved by a redistricting commission consisting of 12 commissioners, four registered with the state’s largest political party, four registered with the state’s second largest political party, and four who are not registered with either of the state’s two largest political parties. At least eight commission members would have needed to agree on a redistricting plan in order for it to be approved.

Multiple versions of this initiative were filed with the secretary of state.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot titles for the different versions of this initiative are below:

Ballot title for version #48

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning state legislative redistricting, and, in connection therewith, renaming the commission that redraws state legislative boundaries; changing the qualifications and methods of appointment of members of the commission; providing for the appointment of 12 commissioners, 4 of whom are registered with the state’s largest political party, 4 of whom are registered with the state’s second largest political party, and 4 of whom are not registered with either of the state’s two largest political parties; adding political competitiveness to the criteria used by the commission; prohibiting drawing plans to purposefully advantage or disadvantage any political party or person; specifying procedures that the commission must follow, including requiring that the commission’s work be done in public meetings and requiring the nonpartisan staff of the commission to prepare and present plans; and requiring the agreement of at least 8 of 12 commissioners to approve any action of the commission?

The ballot title for version #67 is as follows:

Ballot title for version #67

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning state legislative redistricting, and, in connection therewith, renaming the commission that redraws state legislative boundaries; changing the qualifications and methods of appointment of members of the commission; providing for the appointment of 12 commissioners, 4 of whom are registered with the state's largest political party, 4 of whom are registered with the state's second largest political party, and 4 of whom are not registered with either of the state's 2 largest political parties; requiring the commission to consider political competitiveness, to the extent possible, after meeting other requirements for redistricting; prohibiting drawing redistricting plans to purposefully advantage or disadvantage any political party or person; specifying procedures that the commission must follow, including requiring the commission's work to be done in public meetings and requiring the commission's nonpartisan staff to prepare and present redistricting plans; and requiring the agreement of at least 8 of 12 commissioners to approve any action of the commission, and additionally requiring the affirmative vote of at least 2 commissioners not affiliated with either of the state’s 2 largest parties to approve or adopt a redistricting plan?

The ballot title for version #68 is as follows:

Ballot title for version #68

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning state legislative redistricting, and, in connection therewith, renaming the commission that redraws state legislative boundaries; changing the qualifications and methods of appointment of members of the commission; providing for the appointment of 12 commissioners, 4 of whom are registered with the state's largest political party, 4 of whom are registered with the state's second largest political party, and 4 of whom are not registered with either of the state's 2 largest political parties; requiring the commission to consider political competitiveness, to the extent possible, after meeting other requirements for redistricting; prohibiting drawing redistricting plans to purposefully advantage or disadvantage any political party or person; specifying procedures that the commission must follow, including requiring the commission's work to be done in public meetings and requiring the commission's nonpartisan staff to prepare and present redistricting plans; and requiring the agreement of at least 8 of 12 commissioners to approve any action of the commission, and additionally requiring the affirmative vote of at least 2 commissioners not affiliated with either of the state’s 2 largest parties to approve or adopt a redistricting plan?

Full text

• The full text of version #48 of this initiative is available here.
• The full text of version #67 of this initiative is available here.
• The full text of version #68 of this initiative is available here.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Colorado

The state process

In Colorado, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 5 percent of the total number of votes cast for the office of Colorado secretary of state in the preceding general election. For initiated constitutional amendments, signature gathering must be distributed to include signatures equal to 2 percent of the registered voters who live in each of the state's 35 senate districts.

State law provides that petitioners have six months to collect signatures after the ballot language and title are finalized. State statutes require a completed signature petition to be filed three months and three weeks before the election at which the measure would appear on the ballot. The Constitution, however, states that the petition must be filed three months before the election at which the measure would appear. The secretary of state generally lists a date that is three months before the election as the filing deadline.

Constitutional amendments in Colorado require a 55% supermajority vote to be ratified and added to the state constitution. This requirement was added by Amendment 71 of 2016.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2018 ballot:

• Signatures: 98,492 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was August 6, 2018.

The secretary of state is responsible for signature verification. Verification is conducted through a review of petitions regarding correct form and then a 5 percent random sampling verification. If the sampling projects between 90 percent and 110 percent of required valid signatures, a full check of all signatures is required. If the sampling projects more than 110 percent of the required signatures, the initiative is certified. If less than 90 percent, the initiative fails.

Details about this initiative

Version #48:

• Kathleen Curry and Toni Larson submitted this version of the initiative to the Colorado Legislative Counsel (LRC) for review and comment. On September 18, 2017, the counsel offered comments.
  • Compliance with these recommendations is not required.
• Next, proponents submitted a draft to the Colorado secretary of state. On October 4, 2017, the Secretary of state determined that the initiative meets the single-subject rule required by the state of Colorado and set a ballot title.
• The ballot title provided was challenged to the Colorado Supreme Court.
• Version #48 was withdrawn.

Versions #67 and #68:

• Bill Hobbs and Kathleen Curry submitted these versions of the initiative to the LRC and received comments.
  • Compliance with the LRC's suggestions was not mandatory.
• Hobbs and Kathleen Curry submitted versions #67 and #68 to the ballot title setting board of the secretary of state's office on November 3, 2017.
• Titles were set on November 15, 2017.
• The titles were challenged to the Colorado Supreme Court.
• On December 15, 2017, the supreme court ordered that the challengers and defenders (the proponents and members of the ballot title setting board in their official capacity) file briefs.
• The ballot titles for versions #67 and #68 were confirmed by the supreme court on February 2, 2018.
• Versions #67 and #68 were withdrawn.

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Redistricting measures on the ballot
• 2018 petition deadlines

Colorado

• Colorado ballot measures
• Colorado initiative laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls
• Ballot measure signature costs

External links

• Initiative #48 full text
• Initiative #67 full text
• Inititive #68 full text