Amendment 86 aims at preventing Democrats or Republicans from trying to rig congressional maps

Redistricting is one of the most important and least understood political processes.

It shapes everything from who represents you in Congress to what party controls the U.S. House. in 2025, both parties tried to manipulate the maps, which led Advance Amendment — a conservative nonprofit — to put Amendment 86 on the ballot.

Redistricting is the process of drawing the boundaries for congressional districts.

In 2018, Coloradans passed Amendment Y to make that process fairer.

It happens every 10 years after the U.S. Census is taken. The state's population is evenly distributed among the districts.

Amendment Y required an independent commission to draw the boundaries, so they don't favor one party over another.

But, after Republicans redrew districts in half a dozen states this year to benefit their party, Democrats in several states, including Colorado, decided to fight back.

A ballot measure here would have redrawn our eight districts to give Democrats an outsized advantage in all but one of Colorado's congressional districts in 2028 and 2030.

While the Colorado Supreme Court blocked the measure, it was a wakeup a call for Republicans.

Conservative nonprofit Advance Colorado put Amendment 86 on the ballot to make sure no one will try to rig the map again.

The measure would require the Independent Redistricting Commission and Colorado Supreme Court to approve any changes to congressional districts that happen off cycle (not after a census).

The commission would have to hold three public hearings and could not make changes that intentionally favor a political party or unnecessarily divide communities.

Opponents say Amendment 86 removes their ability to counter Republican redistricting in other states and prevents Coloradans from changing districts in off-cycle years if they disagree with the commission's map.

Proponents say they can still redraw districts, they just have to be fair. Amendment 86, they say, keeps partisan politics out of the redistricting process and is in line with voters' intent when they passed Amendment Y.

The measure is constitutional, so it requires 55% of the vote to pass, and the legislature can't easily change or repeal it.