When the Judicial Selection Panel for the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissions meets today, February 1, it plans to move forward with selecting six members of the bipartisan commission that will redraw the state s congressional districts, then repeat the process on February 12 to choose six members of the commission that will redraw the state s legislative districts. But the rest of the schedule is uncertain, because the U.S. Census Bureau is delaying the release of detailed population data, severely hampering major redistricting reform already under way in Colorado.
The redistricting process happens just once every ten years; this round is particularly important because Colorado is expected to add an eighth congressional seat (and one electoral vote) once the 2020 Census is finalized. This is also the first time that the process will be under the guidelines of amendments Y and Z, which over 70 percent of the state s voters approved in 2018. The amendments to the Colorad