Democrats in Colorado are pressing the states supreme court to move faster on a pair of controversial ballot measures that would clear the way for aggressive mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2028 elections.
According to the Daily Caller, party leaders are seeking to carve out as many as three new Democratic-leaning congressional districts, a move that would significantly tilt the states delegation leftward. Before any such map can take effect, however, voters must sign off on two separate ballot initiatives that together would weaken existing safeguards against partisan map-rigging.
One proposal would authorize mid-decade redistricting, effectively discarding the long-standing expectation that congressional lines are redrawn only once per census cycle. The second would permit Colorado to adopt a temporary, openly partisan congressional map for the 2028 and 2030 elections, bypassing the states independent redistricting commission until new maps are drawn after the next census.
Republicans have sued to block both measures, sending the dispute to the Colorado Supreme Court, where it has now languished for more than 50 days without a ruling. That delay has alarmed Democratic operatives, who must gather tens of thousands of signatures under tight deadlines if they hope to place the measures before voters this November.
The delay creates uncertainty amongst petition signers, volunteers and supporters about the viability of the measure, and further erodes the fundamental right to the initiative power, supporters of the redistricting push argued in a Tuesday filing urging the justices to accelerate their decision, The New York Times reported. Their complaint underscores how dependent the effort is on procedural maneuvering and timing, not broad public consensus.
Scott Gessler, an attorney representing Republicans challenging the measures, countered that the courts pace is hardly extraordinary. He told the outlet via email that the justices may simply be taking the time needed to craft a detailed written opinion.
That takes much longer, Gessler told the outlet. I think the timeline clearly shows that the court will issue a written opinion.
Democratic-aligned activists, however, are accusing the court of dragging its feet in a way that could derail their plans. Curtis Hubbard, spokesman for Coloradans for a Level Playing Field, the group backing the gerrymandering effort, warned that the justices foot-dragging risks stripping voters of their chance to weigh in on the most important issues in this election.
If the court can effectively run out the clock on citizen initiatives, it casts a dark cloud over the entire process, Hubbard continued. His criticism is notable given that all seven current members of the officially nonpartisan Colorado Supreme Court were appointed by Democratic governors, a fact that undercuts claims of conservative judicial obstruction.
Both ballot measures must each secure roughly 125,000 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify for the November ballot. The final deadline to submit those signatures is Aug. 3, leaving little room for delay if the court waits much longer to rule.
Gessler has also argued that the measures themselves are constitutionally suspect, accusing Democrats of gaming the states single-subject rule for initiatives. By tying the two initiatives together through use of the effective date clauses, the proponents are connecting two separate subjects, in violation of the single-subject requirement, Gessler stated.
This is effectively a way to avoid the single-subject requirement by forcing voters to accept or reject both initiatives as a package deal. That tactic, critics say, is emblematic of a broader pattern in which Democrats decry gerrymandering in Republican states while quietly entrenching their own power where they hold sway.
Colorados maneuver follows a similar partisan escalation in California, where voters approved Proposition 50 in November 2025 after Texas redrew its congressional map to bolster Republican representation. Prop 50 in part proposes new lines for many of Californias 52 congressional districts, which would negate the five Republican seats drawn by Texas, according to the states Democratic Party.
National Democratic Redistricting Committee Chairman Eric H. Holder, Jr. framed Colorados effort as a defensive response to GOP mapmaking, insisting that only Democrats are acting responsibly. Republicans have demonstrated that their mid-decade gerrymanders will not end after the 2026 midterms, and in the face of that continued threat, Colorado is taking a responsible step by asking the voters to weigh in on the states temporary response, Holder said in a February statement.
Lets be clear: Colorado did not choose this fight. As Republicans pursue mid-decade gerrymanders in other states, the American people, including Coloradans, will fight back. With Democrats now openly embracing mid-decade map-rigging in blue states while condemning it in red ones, Colorado voters are being asked to decide not just where district lines should fall, but whether partisan power plays will replace independent redistricting as the new national norm.
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