Party insiders have too much control over primary

Colorado has become a national leader when it comes to encouraging democratic participation, but that leadership does not extend to the state’s antiquated, undemocratic process for how candidates access the ballot for publicly funded primary elections.

Currently candidates have two paths to get their names placed on primary election ballots: Gathering petition signatures from a prescribed number of party voters or being nominated via party caucuses and assemblies. Last year, 91% of the 247 major party candidates who appeared on primary ballots for federal, state constitutional and state legislative offices qualified via the caucus and assembly process.

That undemocratic system puts too much power in the hands of party insiders and severely limits participation in our political process given that nearly half of Colorado voters (46%) are not affiliated with a party and are therefore denied a say on which candidates appear on ballots they pay for.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In recent years, Colorado has shown a desire to improve and expand access to our democratic processes. In 2013, lawmakers enacted statewide mailballoting and same- day registration. In 2019, they authorized automatic voter registration when residents apply for driver’s licenses and other government services (SB19-235).

As a fierce independent and advocate for democratic participation, I believe unaffiliated voters should have equal access to the ballot. In 2016, despite opposition from entrenched partisans on both sides, I was proud to lead efforts in which voters approved restoring our presidential primary (Prop 107) and opened primary elections to unaffiliated voters (Prop 108). And, two years later, we rallied voters to support a bipartisan measure referred from the legislature that enacted anti-gerrymandering reforms via amendments Y and Z.

Unfortunately, our existing process for accessing publicly funded ballots via caucus and assembly limits participation. This is particularly true for members of the military, working people and parents without child care who don’t have the ability to show up in person at a pre- ordained time and location set by party insiders. In fact, Colorado is one of just eight states that cling to the antiquated system that lets party insiders place candidates on the ballot via conventions.

Further troubling is that our system allowing candidates to collect signatures to qualify for primary election ballots excludes the nearly 50% of active Colorado voters who are unaffiliated with a party.

Voters understand these rules are unfair. A recent poll conducted by a bipartisan team of Colorado pollsters for Let Colorado Vote found nearly seven in 10 voters (69%) support a proposal that would require every candidate for office in Colorado to collect signatures from registered voters to appear on a primary election ballot and allow voters who are unaffiliated with a party to sign a candidate’s petition. The poll of 601 likely 2024 voters was conducted by the well-respected firms Keating Research (D) and New Bridge Strategy ( R).

“Voters across the partisan spectrum, in every region of the state and irrespective of their gender, age, ethnic background, education or income level, overwhelmingly side with supporters of changing the way candidates access the primary ballot,” the pollsters wrote in a memo accompanying their findings.

The results — not to mention the inherent shortcomings of our existing system — should prompt lawmakers to rally around SB23-101, Candidate Access for Primary Elections, which has been introduced in the General Assembly this year.

Provisions of the measure include eliminating nominations by party assembly, which would make ballot access more democratic by putting voters — not party insiders — in charge; allowing unaffiliated voters to sign major-party petitions; expanding the amount of time candidates have to gather signatures; and aligning petition- signature requirements for all parties.

Improving democratic participation and limiting the influence of party insiders is something that clearly unites Colorado voters. Lawmakers should give careful consideration to making our primary election ballot-access process more equitable and accessible.

Kent Thiry is the former chair and chief executive officer of Davita. He has cochaired five successful Colorado citizen ballot initiatives, including the 2016 efforts to restore the state’s presidential primary election (Proposition 107) and to open Colorado’s primary elections to unaffiliated voters (Proposition 107) and 2018 efforts to ban political gerrymandering and create independent commissions to draw Colorado’s congressional and legislative voter maps (amendments Y and Z, respectively).