Dec 2, 2003 4 min read

DENVER (AP) – Accusing the Republicans of overreaching, the Colorado Supreme Court threw out a GOP state redistricting plan Monday in favor of a congressional map that gives the Democrats a better shot at retaking the narrowly divided U.S. House. The high court ruled 5-2 that passage of the GOP plan violated a section of the Colorado Constitution that says the state’s congressional map can be redrawn only once per decade.

The fight in Colorado is not over: The GOP plan is also being challenged in federal court.

And with a Texas redistricting plan similarly tied up in court, the U.S. Supreme Court may end up deciding how often states can redraw their congressional maps. The Texas case is set to go to trial Dec. 11 in Austin.

Colorado’s seven congressional districts now revert to boundaries drawn up by a judge last year.

The judge acted after state lawmakers failed to agree.

But earlier this year, the Republicans pushed a new map through the Legislature. The issue before the high court was whether that map was illegal.

Colorado’s constitution calls for redistricting only once a decade – after each census and before the next general election – and Democrats contended that task was completed by the judge. But Republicans said the judge’s map was temporary and the law requires redistricting to be done by the Legislature.

The court rejected that argument, saying: “Because the General Assembly failed to redistrict during this constitutional window, it relinquished its authority to redistrict until after the 2010 census.

There is no language empowering the General Assembly to redistrict more frequently or at any other time.”

The court also chastised legislators for claiming they should be able to redraw the maps “two, or even 10 times in a single decade,” when federal law calls for redistricting only once.

Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, a Democrat who challenged the GOP map, pleaded with Republicans to let Monday’s decision stand so candidates can get on with their campaigns. But there seemed little chance of that happening.

“It’s far from over. There’s still a federal case to play out,” said Carl Forti, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Colorado House Speaker Lola Spradley, a Republican, said: “In order to protect this Legislature’s rights, as well as those of other state legislatures around the country, we will now proceed to the federal courts.”

Republicans now hold five of Colorado’s seven congressional seats, but the judge’s map bolsters Democrats’ changes in two of those districts.

“We’re back to the old maps. This is a blow to Republicans nationally,” said Tom Downey, an attorney for the Democrats.

Democrats need to gain 12 seats to take control of the 435-member House.

The Democrats have charged that the GOP redistricting effort in Colorado and Texas was part of a national plan led by the White House.

Monday’s ruling was based on the Colorado Constitution. The federal lawsuit, also filed by Democrats, claims that the Republican map violates the equal protection provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

Monday’s ruling included a sharp dissent from two justices.

“The only authority that courts have to intervene in this purely political, legislative process is to review the constitutionality of existing districts,” Justice Rebecca Love Kourlis wrote.

In Texas, a federal court redrew districts after lawmakers failed to do so in 2001, but the Republicans insisted those districts should be redrawn by the Legislature. They got their way after months of turmoil in which Democratic lawmakers twice fled across state lines to thwart a vote.

Under the plan ultimately approved in Texas, the Republicans hope to pick up as many as six seats in the state’s 32-member congressional delegation, now dominated 17-15 by the Democrats.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office said Monday that the Colorado ruling is not relevant to the Texas dispute.

“The Texas Constitution has no provision prohibiting mid-decade congressional redistricting,” said Abbott spokeswoman Angela Hale.