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Reapportionment is the process used to reallocate the 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives amongst the 50 states following each census. The 435 US Congressional seats are apportioned to each state based on that states percentage of the total population of all 50 states. However, each state is guaranteed at least one seat by the Constitution. There are seven states with a single representative because their population is too low; they are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. Based on the 2010 Census results Colorado will again be apportioned 7 Congressional seats. (From the Sec. of State website)
Redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of congressional and state legislative electoral districts to reflect population changes that result from the mandated decennial census results.
In Colorado there are two separate and distinct processes for redistricting, US Congressional districts and state legislative districts. The Colorado General Assembly is responsible for redistricting Colorado’s congressional seats. However, the Colorado Reapportionment Commission is responsible for redistricting Colorado’s 35 State Senate and 65 State House of Representative districts.
Federal law requires precise mathematical equality in population among congressional districts. Other criteria that courts have looked at to assess congressional plans include: 1) absence of racial discrimination; 2) compactness and contiguity of districts; 3) preservation of county or municipal boundaries; and, 4) preservation of communities of interest. Unlike state Senate and House plans, congressional plans are not required to be submitted to any court for review. However, in the past these plans have often been challenged in court.
Federal law and the Colorado constitution set criteria for the Commission to follow when redrawing district boundaries. The "one person, one vote" mandate requires the Commission to achieve equal population among the districts, and the Colorado constitution defines this mandate as no more than 5% deviation between the most populous district and the least populous district. The federal "Voting Rights Act" requires that districts be drawn so as to give minority groups an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.
Other state constitutional criteria include:
- The area within a district must be as compact as possible and the sum of the perimeters of all districts must be as short as possible.
- Districts must be composed of contiguous election precincts.
- Counties and cities cannot be split unless necessary to achieve equal population
- Communities of interest- ethnic, economic, cultural, demographic, trade area and geographic- are to be preserved within a single district whenever possible
In February 2012, the Boulder County Clerk will notify voters by mail who have been assigned new U.S. House, State House or State Senate districts as a result of redistricting. The County Clerk will also notify all voters of their new precinct number. In the meantime, you can look up your new precinct number and check your districts here. (Use the "Already Registered" section of the form)
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Reapportionment Website:
For more information on the reapportionment process and official maps: here
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Find Your Precinct & District:
Look up your new precinct number, find your new district, change your address, change your party affiliation, or check your mail ballot status, etc.! Click here
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