My guess is they'll probably throw DeGette or Perlmutter under the bus to satisfy the VRA, and keep the status quo everywhere else.
VRA doesn't have to toss either DeGette or Perlmutter. Unlocking the Hispanic vote may actually help the Democrats, as it forces the split of Denver, and white Denver is as Democratic as Hispanic Denver.
Colorado isn't covered by the VRA.
All states are covered by section 2 of the VRA, they just are not subject to section 5 preclearance by the DOJ. If there has been a pattern of bloc voting by whites and Hispanics and there is a possible district with over 50% voting age population, then CO would have to make that district. However, it's not clear that it could be shown that there is bloc voting where Hispanics tend to prefer one candidate and the white majority prefers a different one.
I C. Thanks for the correction. Still, Colorado is quite different from the South, and it's questionable whether one could show that Hispanics and whites in areas with more Hispanics would vote differently enough to create separate districts.
