Signatures submitted in Colorado for initiative that would require approval from an independent commission and the state supreme court for mid-decade redistricting maps

In Colorado, signatures were submitted to the secretary of state's office on July 29 for a ballot initiative related to mid-decade redistricting.

The measure — known as Initiative 256 — would require any mid-decade redistricting plan to be approved by both the state's independent redistricting commission and the Colorado Supreme Court. The initiative would also prohibit the approval of maps that have been drawn purposefully to favor one political party.

The Colorado Secretary of State's office has until Sept. 2 to review the signatures to determine whether the petition contains at least 124,238 valid signatures, thereby meeting the minimum requirement to be placed on the ballot for Nov. 3.

As of 2026, Article V, Section 44 of the Colorado Constitution requires the independent commission and the state supreme court to approve redistricting maps following the U.S. decennial census, but does not cover efforts between them.

On June 29, 2026, the state supreme court ruled that other initiatives, which would have redrawn maps prior to the decennial census, were unconstitutional. In their 7-0 decision, Chief Justice Monica Márquez said that undoing the state's independent commission would be a "seismic shift to Colorado's longstanding redistricting process enshrined in the state constitution", and that "changing long-settled law by modifying the timing, frequency, criteria, and entity responsible for congressional redistricting represents a significant change beyond the proponents' stated central purposes."

In 2018, voters in Colorado decided on a ballot measure — Amendment Y— which created the current 12-member independent commission for congressional redistricting. Amendment Y was approved by voters, receiving 71.37% of the vote. Prior to the passage of Amendment Y, the Colorado General Assembly would vote on new maps, which were subject to the governor's veto.

Voters in California and Virginia have also recently decided on ballot measures related to mid-decade redistricting:

In 2025, voters in California approved Proposition 50, which allowed the state to use a new, legislature-drawn congressional district map for 2026 through 2030.
In 2026, voters in Virginia approved a constitutional amendment that would have allowed the General Assembly to redraw congressional districts between Jan. 1, 2025, and Oct. 31, 2030, if another state redrew its districts for reasons other than completing decennial redistricting or complying with a court order. However, the amendment was overturned by the Virginia Supreme Court, so it did not take effect.

As of July 30, seven measures have been certified in Colorado to appear on the statewide ballot for Nov. 3. In addition to Initiative 256, another six measures are awaiting signature verification from the secretary of state's office. The signature submission deadline for all initiatives is Aug. 3.

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