A Colorado Redistricting Case Study for 2024 on Mutual Political Disarmament
July 26, 2024 — Redistricting reformers can now access a specialized case study released today from Alexander Vanderklipp at Princeton University.
The case study, “Mutual Political Disarmament: How Two Reform Groups Overcame Differences to Create Fairer Districts in Colorado, 2015-2021,” describes Colorado’s unique redistricting process that involved two key reform groups crossing party lines. Professor Sam Wang, Founding Director of The Electoral Innovation Lab, is interviewed in the piece as a Princeton University Redistricting Expert.
Unlike “A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting in Ohio,” this study observes a historical turning point for creating fairer districts in Colorado. By outlining an example of a successful independent redistricting process, this study demonstrates tactics across states that can successfully produce redistricting reform across varied political interests. Noteworthy examples include direct comparisons made with Colorado’s, Arizona’s, and California’s independent redistricting processes.
Successful reforms in other states point the way for citizen-led commissions to counter gerrymandering.
"The examples of redistricting commissions in Michigan and Colorado show that an independent process can ensure representation of all communities and parties in a balanced manner,” stated Professor Sam Wang, founding director of the Electoral Innovation Lab. “As the saying goes, states are the laboratories of democracy. These states have done successful experiments." - A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting in Ohio