There is an attempt in Colorado to redo the state’s election system. Tweaking a system that basically has been in place for more than a century – 250 years for US Election Law and 150 years for Colorado Law – might be considered acceptable and possibly efficient, but radically changing a process smacks of intentional bias and unfairness in the minds of many, many Colorado voters. Kent Thiry, wealthy former CEO of DaVita Inc. – a corporation that owns and operates outpatient medical care centers across the country – has, by means of several ballot initiative petition efforts along with a lot of his own money – laid out a plan for extreme changes to several aspects of Colorado’s election process.
Currently, as per Ballotpedia website Electoral systems in Colorado, https://ballotpedia.org/Electoral_systems_in_Colorado, “In Colorado, state legislators (including senators and representatives) are elected via plurality vote in single-winner contests. State executives (including governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, and attorney general) are elected via plurality vote in single-winner contests. United States Senators and United States Representatives are also elected via plurality vote in single-winner contests.” County government officials are also elected via plurality vote in single-winner contests. “The states have the authority to determine which electoral systems they will use in contests for state-level offices. The systems used in contests for federal office must adhere to federal constitutional guidelines, as well as applicable state laws.”
But Thiry wants major changes to be made to the Colorado electoral system. As per the late 2023 published article, 2024 ballot measure would make Colorado’s primaries open, enact ranked-choice voting for general elections from Colorado Sun News outlet November 20, 2023, article, “Colorado voters will likely be asked next year to radically overhaul the state’s election system by adopting an ‘open’ primary system and ranked-choice voting in general elections while also doing away with the caucus and assembly process of putting candidates on the ballot. The proposal would also replace vacancy committees with special elections when state lawmakers resign. “
Not surprisingly, Thiry faces substantial backlash, as per another Colorado Sun News outlet article, Kent Thiry’s proposal to overhaul Colorado’s election system has Democrats and Republicans skeptical, “If there’s one thing that unites Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib, Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams and Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, it’s their shared skepticism of the election system overhaul being proposed by Kent Thiry, the wealthy former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita.”
So Kent Thiry has partially set the table for what’s to come for Colorado voters, but recently, three freshly printed initiative petitions that counter Thiry’s ballot initiative efforts are being circulated throughout Colorado. As per the THE GOOD INITIATIVES article, regarding their (201) Prohibits Ranked Choice Voting initiative. Colorado Counts states, “A ‘Majority’ refers to votes totaling over 50%. Ranked Choice Voting provides a False Majority by redistributing votes. Votes are counted in rounds until one candidate is assigned more than 50% of the votes that were “ranked”. Rarely does the most popular candidate win with this method of tallying votes.”
Regarding Colorado Counts’ (202) Ballot Access through Caucus and Assembly preserved, also by petition initiative, “It is in the interest of the state of Colorado to preserve proven, effective and time-honored traditions in the conduct of elections in our state. In order to protect equal access in local, state and federal elections, it is necessary to guarantee voters and candidates an alternate pathway to the primary ballot other than the petition-on method described in statute. It is also in the interest of the people of the state of Colorado to protect the caucus and assembly pathway which is open to any candidate, despite financial limitations or personal physical aptitude. It is further in the interest of the people of the state of Colorado to protect candidates from a mandated petition-on method, which imposes an undue financial burden on candidates unable to bear the expense of a vast signature-gathering operation. The petition-on process also creates a physical barrier to nonambulatory or similarly physically impaired persons who are unable to conduct door-to-door signature gathering efforts. In furtherance of this objective, the people of the state of Colorado establish that all voters and candidates have the right to participate in the partisan caucus and assembly process to gain access to the ballot.”
Colorado Counts’ third initiative, (278) Closed Primaries. Partisan Primary Ballots chosen by Plurality vote, is focused on the following, “It is in the interest of the state of Colorado to preserve proven, effective and time-honored traditions in the conduct of elections in our state. All nominations by major political parties for candidates for United States senator, representative in congress, all elective state, district, and county officers, and members of the general assembly shall be made by primary elections. Major political parties are entitled to nominate candidates in a primary election to be voted on in the succeeding general election.” “Each major political party that is entitled to participate in a primary election must have a separate party ballot for use only by electors affiliated with that political party. Candidates voted on for offices at primary elections who receive a plurality of the votes cast shall be the respective party nominees for the respective offices in the succeeding general election. Any statute, ordinance, rule, or operating procedure in conflict with this provision is void.”
So, what will remain on the table when the Colorado voters pull the table cloth off with their magic touch – the good, the bad, or the ugly?