The Weld County Redistricting Advisory Committee presented three potential redistricting maps to Weld County commissioners on Monday. There are three public hearings scheduled this month, which will occur on Wednesday, July 9 at 10 a.m.; Wednesday, July 16 at 5 p.m.; and Wednesday, July 23 at 5 p.m. at the Pawnee Conference Room in Greeley. Final approval will take place on July 30.
Weld County finished redistricting in 2023, but the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the county did not follow the proper procedures required by state law. District Court Judge Todd Taylor first heard the case after the League of Women Voters and the Latino Coalition of Weld County filed the lawsuit. Judge Taylor said the county commissioners “failed to meet nearly every procedural requirement.”
Attorney General Phil Weiser filed an amicus brief in January 2024 encouraging Judge Taylor to rule in favor of the plaintiffs for failing to follow the 2021 law against gerrymandering (H.B. 21-1047). Gerrymandering is the practice of redrawing district lines with the intent of supporting one political party. The purpose of redistricting is to ensure districts have relatively equal populations and is completed every 10 years following the completion of the census. It is to be completed in the second odd number year following the census, which was 2023.
"The law is clear — peoples’ votes matter, and gerrymandering has no place in how county commission districts are drawn," Weiser said following the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in February.
The county failed to host at least three public hearings as part of the redistricting in 2023 and also failed to provide a method for the public to participate electronically in hearings. The three proposed redistricting maps split the county into three districts with approximately 110,000 residents per district. The redistricting map from 2023 split the city of Greeley amongst the three districts. The three proposed maps keep Greeley as part of the first Weld County, which encompasses the northern portion of the county.
The maps are viewable online and the public is encouraged to provide electronic comments. The redistricting presentation that was shown to the county commissioners on Monday is available for the public to review online. Members of the public can attend the Wednesday hearings in person or online, but registration is required. All of the materials and information can be accessed from Weld County’s redistricting page.
