Colorado Supreme Court blocks November ballot initiatives to redraw congressional districts

The Colorado Supreme Court unanimously rejected three Democratic-backed ballot measures on June 29, 2026, that would have redrawn the state's congressional map to favor Democrats in seven of eight seats, up from four currently held. The court ruled the initiatives violated the state constitution's single-subject requirement, with Chief Justice Monica Marquez calling the proposal a seismic shift to Colorado's redistricting process. The measures, funded by a group linked to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and backed by Coloradans for a Level Playing Field, would have temporarily paused the independent redistricting commission voters created in 2018. The decision prevents Colorado Democrats from participating in the national off-cycle redistricting wave that has primarily benefited Republicans, and it is now too late to bring new measures for the November 2026 election.

Colorado Supreme Court ruling

• ▪It is too late for Coloradans for a Level Playing Field to bring new measures for the November 2026 election
• ▪The Colorado Supreme Court's decision blocking Initiative 240 was unanimous
• ▪The Colorado Supreme Court on June 29, 2026 threw out three ballot measures that aimed to redraw the state's congressional map
• ▪The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the redistricting proposal violated the single-subject requirement in the state constitution

Democratic redistricting initiative

• ▪The Colorado redistricting ballot measures would have temporarily paused the state's independent redistricting process, which voters added to the state constitution in 2018
• ▪Coloradans for a Level Playing Field had spent more than $2 million through June 10, 2026 on legal fees and signature gathering
• ▪The Colorado redistricting ballot measures would have put new maps in place for the elections in 2028 and 2030
• ▪The Colorado redistricting ballot measures would have made Democrats favored to win seven of Colorado's eight congressional seats, up from the four Democrats hold as of June 2026
• ▪Coloradans for a Level Playing Field needed about 125,000 signatures per measure to get the initiatives on the November 2026 ballot
• ▪The Colorado redistricting ballot measures were funded by a group linked to U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
• ▪The Colorado redistricting measures were filed in 2026 by an organization called Coloradans for a Level Playing Field
• ▪Under the proposed Colorado redistricting maps, only Colorado's 4th Congressional District would have remained a safe Republican seat

Single-subject requirement violation

• ▪Initiatives 241 and 242 were an attempt to break the Colorado redistricting maneuver into two parts to circumvent the single-subject rule while making the measures' enactment contingent on both of them passing
• ▪The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that conditioning one ballot measure on the passage of another was a violation of the single-subject requirement
• ▪Initiative 240 contained the entire Colorado redistricting plan in one measure

National redistricting battle

• ▪Colorado Democrats were unable to join the national redistricting fight without asking voters to amend the state constitution because redistricting power was taken away from the legislature
• ▪States across the United States have adopted new congressional maps in recent months as part of an extraordinary off-cycle attempt set off by President Donald Trump to gain an edge in congressional contests

Republican counter-measures

• ▪Republican ballot measures backed by Advance Colorado have been approved for signature gathering and may appear on the November 2026 ballot
• ▪Colorado's 4th Congressional District is represented by Republican Lauren Boebert as of June 2026
• ▪Republicans challenged the Colorado redistricting measures in court, leading to the June 29, 2026 Colorado Supreme Court decision