Statement of Attorney General Phil Weiser regarding the State of Colorado filing a brief in federal gerrymandering case

Mar. 8, 2019 (DENVER, Colo.) — Attorney General Phil Weiser released the following statement regarding the State of Colorado joining a coalition of states in submitting a ‘friend of the court’ brief in Rucho v. Common Cause, a federal court case challenging North Carolina’s 2016 congressional map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander:

“Every generation must defend our constitutional democracy, addressing threats such as dark money, voter suppression, and extreme partisan gerrymandering.

“In 2018, Colorado came out against partisan gerrymandering and passed Amendments Y and Z to ensure that Colorado state and federal legislative districts are drawn fairly, and to encourage competition in our elections. In Rucho v. Common Cause, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to declare unconstitutional legislative districts drawn for the sole purpose and having the clear effect of extreme partisan gerrymandering. In joining an amicus brief calling for this result, Colorado makes it clear that our commitment to fairness and competitive districts reflects not only sound policy, but it also is at the essence of our constitutional commitment to representative government ‘of the people, by the people, and for people.’

“We must safeguard our democracy and address threats to representative government. Extreme partisan gerrymandering undermines our government by allowing politicians to pick their constituents based on partisan considerations. Widespread gerrymandering leads to extreme political polarization and undermines the functioning of the U.S. House of Representatives, depriving Coloradans of a representative government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.’

“The fight for our democracy is not a partisan issue; this fight is an American issue. All Americans suffer when extreme partisan gerrymandering leads to a federal government that is unresponsive to the wishes of the voters and is subject to political polarization because the general election results are predetermined by those who drew the district map.”

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CONTACT
Lawrence Pacheco, Director of Communications
(720) 508-6553 office | (720) 245-4689 cell
Email: Lawrence.pacheco@coag.gov