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Population growth in the Mountain West has surged during the pandemic, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

A new draft of Colorado’s congressional district map was released late Friday. Unlike the previous preliminary map, this one uses official population data from the 2020 census count instead of estimates. That, along with public comments from 36 meetings in July and August, has led to some major changes in the map’s proposed districts, particularly the new eighth district Colorado gained due to a population increase counted in the 2020 census.

The U.S. Census Bureau released more data from the 2020 U.S. Census today, including diversity numbers. There were large increases to many non-white races and ethnicities, which they attribute to simply asking better questions. However, some are still concerned that a proposed citizenship question and pandemic-related challenges still led to an undercount of certain populations.

After months of waiting, Colorado finally got the local Census population counts needed to draw congressional and state general assembly electoral districts on Thursday. The massive delay has caused a lot of unexpected problems for the state’s brand new independent redistricting commissions. This new set of local data show the ways Colorado’s population has really changed over the last decade.

During these two months of public comment hearings, »Ê¹ÚÍøÖ· will detail some of the preliminary districts and the general redistricting process to help meeting attendees know what they're talking about. Check out the district breakdown and FAQ in this story for more information.

Rough drafts of Colorado’s new state General Assembly district maps were revealed during the Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission’s meeting on Tuesday. This map is not final. It’s a starting point for the commission to hit the road and receive feedback from residents in about 32 public comment meetings held across the state starting July 9.

The number released by the U.S. Census Bureau today will be the official total population count of Colorado. That number will confirm whether the state gets an eighth representative in congress. But there is a lot that number won’t be able to show, like the population of the state's cities, towns and counties.

Congressional redistricting commissioners convened for the first time last week to hear about each other’s political backgrounds, learn more about the process ahead of them and the unique challenges they may face in this once-a-decade task. Commissioners are responsible for redrawing the state’s districts after the decennial census results are released.

2020 census results were supposed to come out in December, as mandated by the Constitution. The Census Bureau recently announced plans to release the first-round of results by April 30. Disruptions and accuracy concerns swirled around last year’s count and, for some, those concerns remain. The delay may help the Bureau fix some issues, but will also cause problems for the state’s redistricting plans and tax allocation process, and could affect local efforts like fire recovery.

By the time the Supreme Court allowed the Census Bureau to stop counting on Oct. 15, 99.9% of the Southern Colorado Area Census Office's caseload was reportedly completed. Just a few weeks earlier, one census door knocker who spoke with »Ê¹ÚÍøÖ· was concerned about how well his fellow Southern Coloradans would be counted.