DENVER — The effort to ask Colorado voters to fight back against Donald Trump’s mid-decade scheme to rig upcoming Congressional elections in the GOP’s favor is one step closer to the November ballot.
Colorado’s Title Board approved three measures for title upon rehearing on Wednesday, meaning signature-gathering can begin to put one or more of the initiatives before Colorado voters this fall.
“We want Colorado voters to have the opportunity to counter the unprecedented efforts by Trump and his MAGA enablers to tilt the playing field in their favor,” said Coloradans for a Level Playing Field spokesman Curtis Hubbard. “Given GOP efforts to draw new maps without any voter input in Texas, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, and Florida — we expect Colorado voters will overwhelmingly support our efforts to help level the playing field in November.”
The following Coloradans for a Level Playing Field initiatives have been approved to move forward with signature gathering (valid signatures from 124,238 registered Colorado voters are needed to qualify for the ballot):
- Initiative 240, which asks voters to approve a temporary map to be used in the 2028 and 2030 congressional elections, and reverting to the independent redistricting commission after the 2030 Census (requires 55% to pass).
- Initiative 241, which asks voters to move the congressional redistricting commission from the state constitution to statute. And Initiative 242, which asks voters to approve a new map for the 2028 and 2030 congressional elections, and reverting to an independent commission after the 2030 Census. These two measures are paired, meaning both must pass (50% is the threshold) for either to take effect.
Coloradans for a Level Playing Field will decide on which initiative or initiatives to pursue in coming weeks.
At Trump’s urging, MAGA politicians in multiple states have redrawn maps to favor the GOP, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special legislative session to do so later this month. Simultaneously, the Supreme Court is poised to rule on a case that could upend the 1965 Voting Rights Act and allow further GOP gerrymandering.
Former Republican Secretaries of State Scott Gessler and Wayne Williams argued unsuccessfully for the motions of rehearing on initiatives 240, 241, and 242.
“From Trump’s attacks on mail ballots to his unprecedented call for maps to be redrawn mid-decade, our democracy faces an unprecedented emergency. Independent redistricting is an ideal — but not when one party is openly capitalizing on the inability of their opponents to fight fire with fire,” Hubbard added. “We are asking voters to approve temporary maps to level the playing field in the face of a nationwide election-rigging effort launched by Trump and MAGA allies.”