COLORADO SPRINGS — Over the weekend, the Colorado Democratic Party voted to oppose the open primary and ranked-choice voting initiative on the November ballot.
“These positions reflect our values, from ensuring that the ultra-wealthy don’t undermine our democracy, to protecting the right to an abortion, to finally enshrining the right to marriage for all Coloradans,” said Shad Murib, Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, in an emailed statement after the Democrats took positions on all of 2024’s ballot measures.
Murib’s “ultra-wealthy” comment could be seen as a dig towards the ranked-choice voting (RCV) measure as it’s backed by wealthy donors like Kent Thiry, the former CEO of Denver-based DaVita Dialysis corporation.
Open primaries and RCV would completely overhaul the way Colorado conducts its elections. An open primary places all candidates for an office onto one ballot regardless of party affiliation. The top four vote-getters then move onto the general election where voters can rank them in order of preference.
Minor parties like the Green Party of Colorado are also against the measure, worried it will keep them off the ballots altogether.
“Just like the origin of this proposal, it's backed by big money. So in the open primary, what you're going to find is those who have access to those resources, and those who are interested in protecting their corporate interests, they're going to fund the candidates that best align with them,” said Patrick Dillon, co-chair of the Green Party of Colorado.
Dillon said he supports ranked-choice voting and points to how Boulder had successfully conducted that system in local elections but doesn’t support the overall initiative due to the open primaries.
There is also fear that the system will advance only four Republicans or only four Democrats in some of the state’s more partisan districts.
Dick Wadhams, a Republican strategist and former chair of the Colorado Republican Party, is an advocate for RCV and open primaries.
He acknowledged some elections might only advance four of the same party, but argued the system is overall better in a state like Colorado.
“We used to have a great process in Colorado. It was very competitive, and it worked well. Colorado has changed in the last 10 years. The electorate has changed,” said Wadhams. “We went from a third, a third, a third in the electorate to now, nearly 50% of the electorate are unaffiliated voters. They are rejecting both parties, and they're rejecting both parties because both parties are going to their extremes, both Republicans and Democrats.”
Wadhams added that minor parties could still make the ballot, but they’ll need a message that voters will support and rally around.
WATCH: The Push For Ranked Choice Voting Colorado
Overall, RCV and open primaries are seen as a way to lessen the power and influence of the major parties. Some partisans have expressed dismay that they must move more to the middle to entice voters.
It's those very reasons that proponents argue the system should be implemented. Wadhams pointed to Alaska as a great litmus test utilizing RCV and open primaries in 2022.
"I think it accomplished what the what the process needed. In Alaska, they elected a conservative Republican for governor, a moderate Republican as US Senator and a moderate Democrat for Congress," said Wadhams.
There is already an effort underway to repeal RCV in Alaska and Wadhams said that will be a good test to show how popular it is with voters.
Views on the measure differ amongst Colorado’s Republican Party as its leadership battle continues. Dave Williams and his faction of the GOP, who are still claiming control of the party, have come out against it.
“Even Democrats and other minor parties oppose eliminating the party system. Without it, the marketplace of ideas and party values vanish, leaving only wealthy candidates or those with substantial financial backing to succeed,” Colorado Republicans said in a May email. “This disenfranchises grassroots candidates and diminishes the role of party platforms.”
But Eli Bremer, who is challenging Williams for party leadership and claims himself as the current interim party chair, offered a more nuanced answer during a one-on-one interview.
“That would be a tectonic shift in Colorado politics. I haven't read the final proposal yet. In general, I don't typically like ranked-choice voting,” said Bremer. “I'll let people make their judgment on that, unless it's something that the committee decides as a body that they want to support or oppose, in which case we will come out on that position.”
However, even if voters approve the initiative in November, a last-minute amendment on an election bill this past legislative session by Democratic Rep. Emily Sirota could indefinitely delay the implementation of ranked-choice voting, advocates said.
Many cried foul that Rep. Sirota snuck the amendment in without proper vetting. Governor Polis ultimately signed the election bill, but noted they'd successfully implement any ballot initiative approved by voters.
Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTVon X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
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