(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) – If people in El Paso County want any say in who will be their elected representative, they only have two weeks left to get involved – the deadline for the public to submit their proposed district maps to the commission is on July 24.

On Wednesday, UCCS held a redistricting open house for the public to have the opportunity to find out more about the redistricting process, describe their neighborhoods and communities, and learn from geospatial technology experts on how to use a map-making tool that is offered to the public to submit their maps.

The El Paso County Redistricting Commission will be holding another open house and more public hearings within the next two weeks in hopes of getting the community involved ahead of that July 24 deadline.

The people involved in this process are aware that redistricting isn’t the most interesting topic but it is vital to the democratic process.

“It’s not necessarily the exciting or dramatic or sexy part of politics… But, this is direct action from voters that’s different and maybe even more significant in some ways than even voting,” said Rob Rogers, the first vice chair for the El Paso County Democratic Party.

Experts say the public should care because the last time El Paso County was redistricted was in 2017. A lot has changed since then, and district lines directly influence who ends up representing each respective community.

The county’s redistricting commission has made a map-making tool, where the public can submit their proposed district lines. Experts say this tool can be instrumental in understanding the process.

“The best way to understand it is to actually sit down and do it. At the end of the day, you might not be comfortable submitting your map… But, you will have a much better sense of the choices that must be made in order to create however you define fair representation,” said Rebecca Theobald, associate research professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies at UCCS.

The redistricting commission is also legally required to get public input, because of redistricting reform legislation passed in 2021. The point of this bill is to ensure fair and effective representation to avoid gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the age-old process of drawing district lines to strongly favor one political party over the other.

“Gerrymandering also hurts everybody and it’s not a partisan issue. Gerrymandering reduces competitiveness… and if a district is not competitive, then that starts to eat away at the accountability of that elected official. If it’s easy for them to get elected, it’s that much easier for them just to ignore the desires and the wishes and the needs of their constituents in that area,” explained Rogers.

Since much has changed since the last time the county was redistricted, experts say that people should brace for change with open arms.

“Any time you move people around and you move boundaries, it does get people upset… So I ask people to step back and look holistically at the district and the county… So everyone in the county has a chance to elect a representative of their choice,” said Theobald.

What hasn’t changed is the party alignment of county commissioners, where El Paso County hasn’t seen a Democratic county commissioner in over 40 years. The commissioners had the option to appoint an independent redistricting commission but decided to appoint themselves.

Since this is the first time the county will be under the jurisdiction of House Bill 21-1047, it is also the first time the public has had this much access to voice their opinions in the process. Some see this redistricting year as one that can be used to correct the mistakes of the past.

“It’s important to look at whether the districts have been drawn fairly or whether they have been gerrymandered… In terms of past redistricting decisions, does the core of the district may have to change?” said Thoebald.

Rogers conceded that the commissioners have been listening and responding to public input, and hopes that this process will continue to be productive.

The El Paso County redistricting website has a full list of resources where the community can find information about their district, the map-making tool, and videos on how to use it.

To learn about these in person, the next open house will be hosted at Colorado College from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12 in the Tutt Library, Room 130.