Colorado is ahead of many other states in how it runs its elections.
However, there is room for improvement.
The problem is that the current system punishes people who have left the duopoly to affiliate with a party that they prefer.
Currently - and by design - most party primary elections are open only to those affiliated with that particular party or who are unaffiliated with any party. This means that the voice of voters who have joined third parties are being silenced at the very beginning of an election cycle. If you generally vote in a primary, you will be punished at the primary level unless you change your affiliation at primary time.
This common practice is one way that political power is transferred from the voter to the major political parties.
Opening primaries to all voters, without favor, addresses two problems:
- Opening primaries to all voters restores the political voice of voters who have affiliated with a smaller party.
- Importantly, open primaries also creates a political landscape in which candidates have to appeal to all voters, rather than just their specific party's base. This is critical in lessening the partisan extremism that is plaguing US politics today.
At present, over half of voters in Colorado are unaffiliated with any political party. While we are fortunate in Colorado that unaffiliated voters are allowed to vote in major political party primaries, ideally, voters who have affiliated with minor political parties would also be allowed to vote in major political party primaries.
Here are some basics to help better understand the current primary system in Colorado:
Key rules in Colorado:
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Unaffiliated voters:
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Automatically receive both major-party ballots (Democratic and Republican)
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May vote in only one primary
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Affiliated voters:
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Receive only their party’s ballot.
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Cannot vote in another party’s primary.
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Voting in both ballots is prohibited (doing so invalidates both).
What makes Colorado different:
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Parties cannot exclude unaffiliated voters.
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Party members cannot cross over and vote in another party's primaries.
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The system is designed to give independents real influence while preserving party identity.