Colorado General Assembly Overview
There are 100 individual Colorado citizens elected to serve in the Colorado General Assembly. There are 65 Representatives and 35 Senators in the Colorado General Assembly, the Senate having a smaller number of districts with each district representing a greater number of people than any individual House district. Colorado state Senate and House districts are determined by the citizen population in each district, and therefore can be made up of whole counties or portions of counties, depending on the population of that county. The population of the state of Colorado and its 100 electoral districts for the General Assembly is determined by the census, which is conducted by the United States federal government every ten years. Based upon the current population count, State Representatives represent approximately 77,500 citizens per district and State Senators represent approximately 144,000 citizens per district. The next census will be conducted in the year 2020, and Colorado electoral districts for the Colorado General Assembly will go through another round of redistricting. Redistricting is the responsibility of the Colorado Independent Redistricting Commissions. There are two commissions, one for congressional districts and one for legislative districts. Each commission is comprised of 12 members selected through judicial review and random draw. Prior to 2018, redistricting was the responsibility of the Colorado Reapportionment Commission which consisted of 11 members appointed by General Assembly leadership, the Governor, and the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. In 2018, Colorado voters approved Amendments Y and Z, which transferred the responsibility for redrawing congressional and legislative districts from the Colorado legislature and the Reapportionment Commission to the newly created independent commissions.