More corporate money flows into Colorado’s ranked-choice voting, open primary ballot initiative Proposition 131

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Wealthy donors with corporate ties have driven millions of dollars in new fundraising for Proposition 131 — the ballot measure seeking to overhaul Colorado’s election system — in the campaign’s final days.

Total contributions now stand at nearly $16 million, easily making it the most costly ballot measure of the 14 proposals facing Colorado voters this November, according to campaign finance reports as of Monday, Oct. 28.

Multimillionaire Kent Thiry, the former CEO for the dialysis company DaVita, who has led other state election reform initiatives in the past, is spearheading the effort. If passed, the ballot measure would radically reshape how the state holds elections for certain races in two ways.

It would abolish political party primaries, the process used to nominate candidates for a general election, in favor of an open primary ballot wherein all candidates, regardless of party, compete together. And it would institute ranked-choice voting in the general election, allowing voters to choose multiple candidates in order of preference and eliminating candidates in rounds until one secures over 50% of the vote.

Proponents say it will give voters more choice, particularly for those unaffiliated with either major party. Opponents have criticized the approach as one that would complicate the voting process, make it harder for parties to be represented in general elections and incentivize more money in politics.

Thiry himself has contributed more than $3 million as of this week. Other recent donations include $100,000 from Kimbal Musk, brother of Elon Musk and owner of The Kitchen Restaurant Group, and $500,000 from oil and gas giant Chevron, campaign finance reports show.

Previous donations came from Netflix cofounder and executive chairman Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. and Walmart heir Ben Walton, who both gave $1 million.

The deluge of corporate money flowing into Proposition 131 has been used as a key line of attack by opponents who say the effort is designed to further the political ambitions of rich, well-connected groups.

In another sign of the outside pressure being put on Colorado voters’ decision on Proposition 131, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a leading progressive on the national stage, released a statement last week opposing the measure.

Warren called the ballot proposal “election reform that is a wolf in sheep’s clothing — completely funded by billionaires to tilt the political landscape towards their own special interests.”

Sen. Michael Bennet posted a video to the social media platform X on Monday urging Colorado voters to ask “why Chevron has now given half a million dollars to join all the millions of out of state money” that is seeking to rewrite the state’s election laws.

“Do you think it’s because Chevron cares about Colorado’s democracy?” said Bennet, the most prominent Colorado politician to come out against the measure.

Curtis Hubbard, a spokesperson for the Yes on 131 campaign, called the attacks “complete hypocrisy,” noting that Chevron and the American Petroleum Institute contributed to Bennet’s reelection campaign in 2016.

Chevron donated $5,000 while the petroleum institute donated $1,500.

“Our opponents don’t seem to complain about money in politics when it serves their interests,” Hubbard said. “That is because they understand this is a policy that benefits voters and limits the power that the parties and their preferred special interests currently have.”

Hubbard said money in politics is “a separate issue from the one Prop 131 is addressing.”

The Yes on 131 campaign has outraised and outspent its opposition by a staggering margin, with nearly $14.3 million in expenditures as of Monday. By comparison, the two opposition groups — Voter Rights Colorado and First Choice Counts — have spent around $292,000 combined, campaign filings show.

Voter Rights Colorado has raised $423,500 and spent $284,540, with large donations coming from the Working Families Party, pro-education groups and labor unions. First Choice Counts has raised $7,982 and spent $7,772 mostly from smaller, individual donations.

“We’re obviously at a disadvantage money-wise, but we’re working through our grassroots community groups,” said Voter Rights Colorado spokesperson Sean Hinga. “It’s a David-and-Goliath kind of situation, and we’re doing our best to defeat a bad policy.”

Proposition 131 has the backing of Unite America, a national nonprofit cochaired by Thiry, which has pushed election reform measures in other states. In 2020, Alaska adopted an identical version of the proposal currently facing Colorado and held its first all-candidate primary and ranked choice general election in 2022.

The Colorado ballot proposal has been endorsed by Gov. Jared Polis and Sen. John Hickenlooper as well as voting groups Fair Vote and the League of Women Voters. Its opponents include Bennet, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, the state Republican and Democratic parties and civil rights organizations such as the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity & Reproductive Rights.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Ballots must be returned that day by 7 p.m.

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More corporate money flows into Colorado’s ranked-choice voting, open primary ballot initiative Proposition 131

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