Public Comments

We live in Conifer (Green Valley Ranch) and the maps lumping our area (Jefferson County) in with Park County and The Springs will not represent us well. Political beliefs and lifestyle are more in line with Max Competitive CO Congressional Districts. The county line between Park and Jefferson County is a pretty good line of demarcation. We pay higher taxes in Jefferson County and believe in Government services. Park County pays lower taxes and does not want Government services.

I believe that Grand County should not be included with Boulder County in the congressional district. Grand County should be in the West Slope district. We have much more in common concerns with the West Slope than the Front Range communities.

Thank you. Last redistricting lumped Larimer county in with Boulder. This is a colossal mistake as we are fundamentally different than Boulder. Our economy is driven by energy and agriculture and we have very real differences of opinion on those industries than the Denver metro area. Our transportation need differ, our definition of freedom differs, and our outlook on life is vastly different. Please correct this mistake. The Loveland area has a significant senior population. We have many jobs in agriculture and cherish our dairy farms, cattle ranchers, and farmers. We have many people who keep livestock and horses. Many of us support the secessionist movement Weld and other counties are proposing. Frankly, our voices are drowned out in the din of the metro area. Just because we are less dense in population does not mean we should be ignored. We are tired of the Denver area imposing their policies on the rural areas. We don’t want or need their wolves, dog bans, fracking bans, gun control or lawless protests. And we are tired of being over ridden time and time again without so much as a polite hearing. So as you consider this redistricting, please keep in mind the people of northern Colorado are a unique set that does not mesh well with the metro area growth. Please keep us autonomous. Thank you

All redistricting has always been a version of gerrymandering. I believe a geographic grid, north, south, east and west of no more than 25 miles each, overlaid on the state. This would be the ultimate in fairness no matter where the gridlines fall. Anything else is a political cheap shot. The way current district lines are drawn is almost incomprehensible and outrageous.

Recommendations For Immediate Consideration by Colorado’s Redistricting Commissions The Colorado Constitution requires that: “Within the first twenty days after the commission has convened, any member of the public and any member of the commission may submit written comments to nonpartisan staff on the creation of the preliminary plan and on communities of interest that require representation in one or more specific areas of the state.” Colo. Const. art. V, §§ 44.4(1); 48.2(1). As Colorado’s Independent Redistricting Commissions convene and the redistricting process begins, we offer the following recommendations in order to ensure that opportunities for public participation are prioritized, expanded, and accessible. - Extend the 20-day written public comment period: Given the delay in US Census data, we urge both the Independent Congressional Redistricting Commission and the Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission to formally adopt, at a minimum, a 60 day extension to the 20-day written public comment period as quickly as possible. Additionally, the finalized deadlines for the written public comment should be posted on the Colorado Redistricting Commissions’ website and publicized as broadly as possible. - Increase accessibility of written public comment form: We urge commissioners and commission staff to make the written public comment form more accessible to communities whose primary language is not English by improving translation of the form. Currently, the form includes a sentence in Spanish informing the public that comments submitted in other languages will be translated; however, this is not sufficient. We recommend a comprehensive translation of the form in its entirety. We respectfully offer these recommendations to the Independent Congressional and Legislative Redistricting Commissions in the spirit of transparency and ensuring Colorado’s Redistricting process is accessible to all Coloradans.

The historical trend to 'gerrymander' based upon which party currently is in power seems to only serve to divide communities along increasingly polarized national party lines rather than locally shared values. Only having one representative selected from each congressional district also feeds into strengthening the two party system, which, in turn, also feeds into polarizing political division. I would like to include these two factors considering redistricting. 1. Redistrict in a way that allows for more advanced voting options, such as ranked choice voting. This encourages people to vote with greater confidence for the candidate they prefer rather than vote AGAINST the candidate they fear. 2. Create the districts large enough to take the top 3, 4, or 5 candidates as joint representatives for that district (allowing for greater diversity of candidates to be selected, while also giving better representation to a district's politically minority populations).

Please extend the public comment period by at least 60 days and include better language materials for non-English submissions. Choosing our maps is a process that deserves these basic and essential considerations to be included. Thank you!

March 19, 2021 Subject: Comments submitted to Colorado Congressional and State Redistricting Committees. Thank you to the Commission staff for taking my written comments on the Redistricting process occurring in Colorado. My name is Eric Douglas, a 23 year resident of Gilpin County, just west of Jefferson County. Gilpin County is the 2nd smallest county by area in the State of Colorado. We have an estimated population between 5,000 and 6,000 people. We have 3 small towns: Black Hawk, Central City and Rollinsville. We are a tight knit rural community with one public library, one K-12 school, and one community center. If you have lived here long enough, it is possible to personally know a significant number of the people in the County. Gilpin County is currently completely contained in Congressional District 2, Colorado House District 13 and Colorado Senate District 16. For all these reasons I request that you keep the entire county in one Congressional District, one Colorado House District and one Colorado Senate district. Thank You! Eric Douglas 1327 Golden Gate Drive Golden, CO 80403

need a map please

I ask the Commission to allow the citizens of the State of Colorado as a whole to decide who represents the State of Colorado in the House of Representatives. Let our Members be determined on their policy not on geography. I, as a citizen and voter in Fort Collins have no ability to influence who represent the State of Colorado in the House, other than for the 2nd District. I cannot vote my support or disproval for any other Member in the House that represents Colorado. Based on how the Districts are drawn and have performed, it is improbable that a Democrat or Independent in Greeley will be elected - regardless of any ideas supporting the industries and people of the State, or even the District. And the same is true for a Republican or Independent in Denver, no matter how popular their positions may be among the citizens of the State. A statewide election demands the best candidates get placed before the voters, instead of districts where a candidate can be elected regardless of their positions and policies. In addition, based on news reports, battles over districts can last years. The costs for such lawsuits are ridiculous, when there is an opportunity to give voice to the citizens to chose the policy that supports their goals and desires regardless of where a potential Member of the House may reside. Let each Member apportioned to the State of Colorado be determined on a Statewide vote as described in Section 2 of Article 1 of the Constitution: “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States.” We the people want to decide who represents us in Congress, I would request and recommend the districts for Colorado be statewide to allow all citizens to vote on all such Representatives. Thank you.