Creating Colorado’s 8th congressional district

Bibliographic Data

ID16840734
AuthorsGabriella Subia (0000-0002-4265-7209, University of Colorado Boulder, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume20
Issue1
Publication date2024-12-31
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Maps (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-5647 • E-ISSN: 1744-5647
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17445647.2024.2415644
OpenAlexW4403943315
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited20

This paper looks at the creation of Colorado’s newest congressional district (CD 8) to explore the recycling of political power that occurs in redistricting despite struggles to challenge the status quo. Located in the North Denver Metro (NDM), the district is home to the fastest growing population and largest concentration of Hispanics in the state. Using analysis of public feedback, commission meetings, and walking interviews with commissioners and participants, I tell the story of CD 8 as a focal point of Colorado’s first independent and participatory redistricting process. Most academic literature on redistricting revolves around how to better detect gerrymandering by measuring adherence to criteria like compactness and competitiveness. This paper, alternatively, makes a much-needed intervention through a qualitative analysis of the production of CD 8 in order to demonstrate how redistricting draws lines around not only districts but also the realm of political possibility

Citizen journalism · Commission · Democracy · Geography · Gerrymandering · Political science · Politics · Population · Realm · Redistricting · Sociology · Status quo · Computer Science · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Policy Transfer and Learning · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research

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