Fair maps mean better elections
Gerrymandering is the political equivalent of the Olympics — only if there were just two countries and instead of gold medals the winners got a hefty head start for the next decade in all their other competitions.
Savvy politicians with their eyes on that ultimate prize of “safe districts” for 10 years, engage in mathematical gymnastics to pack competitive districts with their voters, protect their incumbents from unfriendly constituents and, whenever possible, concentrate as many of their opponents in a single sacrificial district.
Both major political parties are guilty.
Of Colorado’s seven Congressional Districts only one is truly competitive — the 6th Congressional District in east metroDenver — and the others enjoyed an average margin of victory of a staggering 26 points in 2016, according to Fair Maps Colorado.
But this November, politicians have the chance to totally redeem themselves from the years the public has had to endure “midnight gerrymandering,” maps drawn in backroom deals and sprung on the public, and decades of courts having to step in and be the final arbiter.
They’ll need your help, of course.
Amendments Y and Z, if approved by a whopping 55 percent of voters, would stop the madness before the 2021 Games begin.
Our growing — neigh booming — state is almost guaranteed to get another congressional district following the 2020 Census, making the passage of Amendment Y for redistricting state legislative districts, and its counterpart Amendment Z for congressional races, all the more essential.
Born of a painstaking compromise between powerhouse Republicans, Democrats and independents who were originally each pursuing their own favored tweaks to the process, these amendments truly represent the best Colorado has to offer.
The amendments ban gerrymandering and incumbent protec tion, but maintain important protections to voting blocks considered “communities of interest” so that minority demographics aren’t disenfranchised.
The maps would be drawn and considered in open meetings and the commission will be subject to open records laws.
For the first time “competitiveness” would be among the goals of the commission.
The biggest change, though, would be removing congressional map making from the duties of the Colorado legislature and placing it with a commission that is composed of four Republicans, four Democrats and four unaffiliated voters. Half of the commissioners would be randomly selected from a pool of applicants that was narrowed by a team of three retired judges and the other half would be selected by a retired judge panel to ensure geographic and demographic representation.
If you think this all sounds too good to be true, we admit that it’s possible gerrymandering could endure even with these controls, but for once this approach is far superior to the status quo.
And if those arguments weren’t enough to persuade you, consider who is backing these amendments.
The Colorado legislature voted 100 to zero to refer Amendments Y and Z to voters.
The chairs of Fair Maps Colorado are Kent Thiry, a champion for unaffiliated voters, Joe Zimlich, a Democrat, and Heidi Ganahl, a Republican.
Former Republican Speaker of the House Frank McNulty; Amanda Gonzalez with Common Cause Colorado; Josh Penry, a former Republican lawmaker and current conservative strategist; and Mark Grueskin, an elections attorney frequently representing Democrats, all had a hand in crafting this compromise.
“There was a lot of perseverance. It could have been a disaster,” Grueskin told us Wednesday. “But credit where credit is due, the outreach came from the Republican side … and this compromise measure really is the best possible alternative for voters.” Members of The Denver Post’s editorial board are Megan Schrader, editor of the editorial pages; Lee Ann Colacioppo, editor; Justin Mock, CFO; Bill Reynolds, vice president of circulation and production; Bob Kinney, vice president of information technology; and TJ Hutchinson, systems editor.