Colorado General Assembly

The Colorado General Assembly consists of 100 members, divided into a two houses consisting of 65 members in the House of Representatives and 35 members in the Colorado Senate. Redistricting of the General Assembly is guided by Section 47, which dictates the nature the redistricting process.

For the redistricting process, there are three main rules: compactness, county/city integrity, and communities of interest. The law itself has different wording, and can be found here.

The first paragraph states that districts should contiguous, be as compact as possible, with the linear distance minimized.

The second paragraph prevents the splitting of counties unless required to meet equal population requirements, and when it is required to minimize the number of divisions. If a county is split, then the limitations on division devolve to the cities and towns.

The third paragraph directs the redistricting commission to preserve communities of interest: economic, geographic, or demographic. This conflicts the directive of the second paragraph is some ways, but not in others.

While the three paragraphs give a fairly good framework for reapportionment, there are ways of gerrymandering within the system. This all comes down to the splitting of counties, and the places to do it. In general, the outside U shape around the Front Range is non-controversial in comparison. Counties are hard to split due to their low population, and the general shape of these districts is hard to modify. However, counties from Larimer to Pueblo, counties need to split and therefore the communities of interest can take on interesting meanings.

The most prominent example of this has been redistricting within Boulder County. When GOP members hold a majority, the districts formed isolate the City of Boulder from the rest of the county. In 2002, the city of Boulder was split into multiple different districts, enhancing the city's power to influence the state legislature. In the end it all comes down to the courts, which inevitably get involved because various groups will sue claiming unfair proportioning.

Colorado House of Representatives

There are 65 state representatives, each assigned to a district formed from an equal number of residents. Terms last two years, and the current state constitution limits representatives to no more than 4 terms. A term is considered a whole term when the representative served in for 51% of that elected term. The Speaker of the House is elected from the member of the House, but is generally the majority party's choice.

The House of Representatives has a fairly high turnover rate, since they are good launching points to State Senate seats. In addition, redistricting in 2002 created a high number of swing districts, producing the Democratic majority that now runs the General Assembly and ensuring Republican challenger have a significant base to draw from as well.

Colorado State Senate

There are 35 state representatives, each assigned to a district formed from an equal number of residents. Senate districts are not required to share borders with house districts, and only do when they are located at county or city boundaries. In the Colorado Senate, vacant seats are filled until the next general election after the vacancy, so senate elections for two year terms are possible. However, I am unsure of the date at which a filled vacancy does not have to undergo an election.

In rare cases, State Senators will try to run for a State House seat in order to stay in office. Term limits are reset after two years out of that particular office, so alternation between each is possible. However, these instances are rare, and a large majority of them have failed when they were tried. Others run for county commissioner or other offices.

RTD Districts

The Regional Transportation District in the Denver Metro area has an elected board of directors, each serving a district within the boundaries where RTD collects tax dollars. There are fifteen districts, labeled A through O and directors are elected to a four-year term. Elections are staggered so that eight seats are open in one general election, seven in the next. They are not considered partisan, but will fall on the usual Democrat vs. Republican sides due to the direction of the RTD system and light rail expansion. They are not nearly as partisan as other committees. The current chair is Lee Kemp from Broomfield.

County Commissioner and Other County Level Officials

County commissioners vary by county, usually on a staggered schedule and are elected in a staggered pattern on even years. The number also varies, but is odd to prevent tie votes. Nearly every county has district level commissioners, with some counties adding additional at-large seats which are elected by the entire county. In all counties except Broomfield and Denver, the Assessor, Clerk and Recorder, Sheriff, and Treasurer are also elected. The Coroner and Surveyor depend on the population of the county, and sometimes are appointed when no candidates present themselves.

In the case of Broomfield and Denver, elections occur on odd years, and consist of both a Mayor and City Council. Other positions are generally appointed. In Denver, the Clerk and Recorder, Auditor, and other positions are elected on four year terms. In Broomfield, the Mayor and City Council members are elected serve two year terms.