AOTL Colorado: Independent Redistricting Commissions' First Round of Public Hearings Result in Significant Insight on Colorado's Diverse Communities

For Immediate Release:
August 30, 2021
Contact:
Fabiola Rodriguez
rodriguez@redistrictingaction.org

Last week, Colorado’s Independent Redistricting Commissions concluded their first round of public hearings intended to obtain feedback on preliminary maps and insight into communities of interest. After 32 joint hearings and thousands of public comments, the hearings resulted in significant insight into Colorado’s growing and diversifying population. While the first round of hearings is a critical step in Colorado’s redistricting process, the commissions must ensure that the congressional and state legislative plans released in September reflect testimony from the statewide hearings.

"The conclusion of Colorado's first round of public hearings marks another milestone toward final maps that reflect the growing and diverse communities throughout the state. Commission staff must now ensure that the plans released in September reflect public testimony from the statewide hearings,” said Marco Dorado, AOTL Colorado State Director.

“Given that preliminary plans were drawn using non-final Census data that did not reflect communities of color, specifically Latinos in Adams, Arapahoe, and El Paso Counties, subsequent maps must reflect testimony provided on the rapid growth of these communities across the state. All On The Line Colorado has trained hundreds of Coloradans to understand how to participate in the process and make their voice heard. We look forward to a second round of hearings that give all Coloradans a fair opportunity to provide the redistricting commissions feedback on maps drawn using final Census data,'' continued Dorado.

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