Colorado’s independents get vote in party primaries

DENVER — Colorado is joining a growing list of states that allow unaffiliated voters — the state’s largest voting bloc — to participate in the major party primaries, thanks to a voter-passed initiative that coincided with disenchantment with the polarization of the 2016 election.

The 2016 initiative allows Colorado’s 1.2 million active independent voters to cast ballots in either the Democratic or Republican party primaries on Tuesday. The initiative passed in a year that saw presidential candidate Bernie Sanders defeat Hillary Clinton in Colorado caucuses and yet a strong vote for Donald Trump in the general election, though he lost the state.

Early mail and drop-off ballot returns suggest that more independents are voting Democratic in a tight gubernatorial primary to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper. It’s too early to predict independents’ turnout or impact on the campaigns, advocates said.

“What this means for the races will take time to see,” said Josh Penry, a political consultant and former Republican state Senate minority leader who campaigned for the initiative. “As the parties self-immolate and people flee them, it’s important that they can vote in the semifinals.”

“The reality is the GOP and the Democrats should be thinking about how to appeal to the people in this enormous bloc,” Penry said.

But there’s little sign the major party gubernatorial candidates are reaching out in this swing state where Democrats and Republicans each have roughly 1 million registered voters.

Presumed Democratic front-runners U.S. Rep. Jared Polis and former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy espouse universal health care, their public schools credentials, protecting public lands and promoting renewable energy. Republicans, including Treasurer Walker Stapleton, a cousin of President George W. Bush, generally embrace President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and income tax cuts and promote Colorado’s oil and gas industry.