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Colorado Amendment Y and Amendment Z were referendums to amend the Colorado Constitution that were on the ballot at the November 2018 elections. The Amendments proposed to make redistricting in Colorado independent and nonpartisan; Amendment Y applied to congressional redistricting and Amendment Z applied to state legislative resdistricting. Both Amendments passed by significant margins: Amendment Y was approved by 71.2% of voters, and Amendment Z by 70.8%.[1]

Background

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The legislation proposing Amendment Y and Z (called Senate Concurrent Resolution 18-004[2] and 18-005[3] respectively) was approved by both the Colorado Democratic Party and the Colorado Republican Party, and all 100 members of the Colorado legislature voted in support of the Amendments.[4] In the Colorado House of Representatives, the Amendment legislation was co-sponsered by Crisanta Duran, the Democratic House Speaker, and Patrick Neville, the Republican House Minority Leader.[5][6]

Previously, legislative redistricting had been run by the Colorado Reapportionment Commission whose 11 members were appointed by legislative leaders, the Governor of Colorado and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Colorado.[7] Congressional districts were drawn by the legislature.[7]

Campaign

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Support

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The registered issue committees in support of both Amendments Y and Z were Fair Maps Colorado; Win the Fourth Colorado Issue Committee; and Yes on Y and Z.[8]

'Yes'
Individuals
Newspapers
Organisations

Opposition

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The only registered issue committee in opposition of the Amendments was State Ballot Issue Committee, run by Douglas Bruce.[8] The Amendments were criticised for excluding small parties by only allowing members of the redistricting commission to be Democratic, Republican or unaffiliated.[17]

Ballot questions

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Amendment Y

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The question put to voters was:[2]: 22 

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning a change to the way that congressional districts are drawn, and, in connection therewith, taking the duty to draw congressional districts away from the state legislature and giving it to an independent commission, composed of twelve citizens who possess specified qualifications; prohibiting any one political party's control of the commission by requiring that one-third of commissioners will not be affiliated with any political party, one-third of the commissioners will be affiliated with the state's largest political party, and one-third of the commissioners will be affiliated with the state's second largest political party; prohibiting certain persons, including professional lobbyists, federal campaign committee employees, and federal, state, and local elected officials, from serving on the commission; limiting judicial review of a map to a determination by the supreme court of whether the commission or its nonpartisan staff committed an abuse of discretion; requiring the commission to draw districts with a focus on communities of interest and political subdivisions, such as cities and counties, and then to maximize the number of competitive congressional seats to the extent possible; and prohibiting maps from being drawn to dilute the electoral influence of any racial or ethnic group or to protect any incumbent, any political candidate, or any political party?

Amendment Z

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The question put to voters was:[3]: 23 

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning a change to the manner in which state senate and state house of representatives districts are drawn, and, in connection therewith, reforming the existing legislative reapportionment commission by expanding the commission to twelve members and authorizing the appointment of members who possess specified qualifications; prohibiting any one political party's control of the commission by requiring that one-third of commissioners will not be affiliated with any political party, one-third of the commissioners will be affiliated with the state's largest political party, and one-third of the commissioners will be affiliated with the state's second largest political party; prohibiting certain persons, including professional lobbyists, federal campaign committee employees, and federal, state, and local elected officials, from serving on the commission; limiting judicial review of a map to a determination by the supreme court of whether the commission or its nonpartisan staff committed an abuse of discretion; requiring the commission to draw state legislative districts using communities of interest as well as political subdivisions, such as cities and counties, and then to maximize the number of competitive state legislative seats to the extent possible; and prohibiting maps from being drawn to dilute the electoral influence of any racial or ethnic group or to protect any incumbent, any political candidate, or any political party?

Results

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As constitutional amendments, the referendums required 55% support in order to pass.[18]

References

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  1. ^ Ben Botkin (6 November 2018). "Colorado Amendments Y and Z: Measures pass handily". The Denver Post. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 18-004" (PDF). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 18-005" (PDF). Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  4. ^ Chris Bianchi (15 October 2018). "Bye, Bye, Gerrymandering? Inside Amendments Y and Z". Westword. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  5. ^ "A Bipartisan Path Forward on Redistricting". Colorado House Democrats. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  6. ^ Haley Gray (8 October 2018). "Colorado Ballot 2018: What Every Voter Should Know". 5280.com. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Colorado Amendments Y & Z, Independent Panels For Redistricting, Have Passed". Colorado Public Radio. 7 November 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Amendments and Propositions on the 2018 Ballot". Secretary of State of Colorado. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  9. ^ Corey Hutchins (17 May 2018). "Voters in November will decide whether Colorado should drastically change the way it draws political lines". The Colorado Independent. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  10. ^ Ernest Luning (25 October 2018). "Actress Jennifer Lawrence backs Colorado ballot measures on gerrymandering - Endorsement Watch". The Gazette. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  11. ^ Edward-Issac Dovere (14 October 2018). "Schwarzenegger Is Back in a Wonky Campaign Fight Against Gerrymandering". The Atlantic. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  12. ^ Wade Troxell; Joe Zimlich (30 October 2018). "Opinion: Amendments Y and Z would combat gerrymandering". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  13. ^ "2018 ACLU of Colorado Voter Guide" (PDF). ACLU Colorado. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Support for Amendments Y and Z". Colorado Common Cause. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  15. ^ Sara Waite (25 September 2018). "League of Women Voters advocating for Amendments Y and Z". Journal-Advocate. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Unite Colorado Endorses Fair Maps Redistricting Initiatives". Unite Colorado. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  17. ^ Ari Armstrong (30 September 2018). "Armstrong: Amendments Y and Z discriminate against members of Colorado's minor parties". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  18. ^ "What's Colorado Amendment Z: State legislative redistricting change". The Denver Post. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2022.

Category:2018 Colorado ballot measures Category:Redistricting in the United States

https://www.cms.org/articles/copic-endorses-ballot-amendments-y-and-z https://www.koaa.com/news/election-watch/2018/11/06/election-results-amendment-z-legislative-redistricting/ https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/Supreme_Court/Opinions/2021/21SA305.pdf https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/CO%20Amendment%20Z.pdf https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/CO%20Amendment%20Y.pdf http://www.bellpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Amendment-Z-Bell-Policy-Center.pdf http://www.bellpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Amendment-Y-Bell-Policy-Center.pdf https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/initiative%2520referendum_final%20draft%20packet%20-%20amendment%20z.pdf https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/initiative%2520referendum_final%20draft%20packet%20-%20amendment%20y.pdf

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