A sample ballot in Maine showing how ranked-choice voting works
Thelma Grimes
In November, Colorado voters will decide whether to upend the election process by abolishing party-line primaries and sending the top four candidates, regardless of party, to the general election.
Through Proposition 131, voters will decide on ranked-choice voting, also called an instant runoff, where candidates are selected by order of preference. If a candidate receives 50% of first-preference votes, they win the race. If no candidate gets enough votes for the 50% threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in a mathematical process until one candidate has enough votes. This YouTube video explains it.
In a single-choice voting system, as Colorado currently has, the candidate with the most votes wins, regardless of the percentage. Kent Thiry, one of the primary backers of Proposition 131, insists that’s the problem.
Thiry, a co-chair of the national organization Unite America, argued that means a large percentage of voters’ voices are not being heard. In Denver, where voters tend to lean left, Thiry said that when a candidate wins 60% of the vote, the other 40% does not matter.
The reverse could happen in El Paso County. Thiry, the former CEO of DaVita, explained that when 60% vote Republican, the 40% that vote Democrat do not have a proper voice in the election process.
“(These minority voters) learn that in their adult life, they are highly unlikely to ever cast a meaningful vote for any legislative position, federal or state,” Thiry said. “We brag in Colorado about our high turnout in our general elections, which we should brag about because it’s outstanding. But 85% of our districts are party-dominated one way or the other.”
Proposition 131 would apply to Colorado’s congressional races, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, state board of education, state board of regents, and state legislative contests. It would not apply to presidential or municipal races, such as county commissioners and district attorneys.
Deb Otis, the director of research and policy for FairVote, a nonprofit organization that promotes ranked-choice voting, said this election format is one of the fastest growing in the nation. Ranked choice voting started in Maine in 2018 and has continued to gain momentum, she said from her office in Washington D.C.
“This system creates more choices and more competitive contests,” Otis said. “That’s why we are seeing it growing so fast. Campaigns have to focus more on the issues instead of mudslinging.”
In a system where party affiliation means nothing, Otis said candidates in states like Maine are learning to work harder and understand that even being ranked second or third is important in the process.
Not everyone is excited to change the current election process.
Notably, the Colorado Democratic Party opposes the measure.
“Proposition 131 is an overly complicated and overly expensive measure created by billionaire Kent Thiry with zero input from election clerks,” Democratic Party Chair Shad Marib said via email. “In Alaska, this system has led to single-party general elections, diminishing ideological diversity in government, and a cascade of dark money. Billionaires trying to buy elections is part of the problem with politics to begin with, and this measure makes it even easier for them to tilt the system in their favor.”
Thiry called the state Democratic position “hypocritical.”
“First, given the stunning amounts of money that they spend, and have recently spent, on funding their candidates. Numbers that are 10 to 50 times higher than anything that we are doing,” Thiry said. “It’s almost funny how hypocritical they are about money in politics. It was funny how they accepted that money without any hesitation or complaining, but now they suddenly think it’s bad money.”
Thiry also said he is just a small part of the effort to push Proposition 131 forward, pointing to polling numbers showing citizens favor it.
Thiry said polling shows Colorado voters are “unhappy with the status quo.”
“American voters are crying for the ability to vote for a person over party,” he said.
A recent poll from Keating Research shows Colorado voters are in favor of election changes. Out of the 800 voters surveyed, 64% said they would either vote yes or are leaning toward voting yes on Proposition 131, while 25% indicated they would vote no or are leaning toward voting no. Eleven percent said they are undecided.
The measure is supported by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis.
On social media, Polis said, “While Colorado has among the best voter integrity and access protections, no voting system is perfect, and I think instant runoff voting is better than our current system because it gives voters more choices. I’m hopeful that if it passes, it will encourage participation and improve our democracy.”
According to the Colorado Republican Party website, the GOP is against ranked choice voting, saying the ballot will confuse voters and help Democrats.
“In extrema liberal Colorado, RCV ensures that most extreme Democrats prevail and less conservative choice for office end up winning elected offices,” the statement said. “RCV is supported by Kent Thiry, whose goal is to eliminate parties and move to a centrist system.”
Otis said Colorado’s ranked-choice voting would be similar to what’s being used in Alaska and in Boulder for municipal elections.
Alaska started using ranked choice voting in 2022, with Unite America, headquartered in Colorado, being a main proponent of its passing in 2020.
However, the jury may still be out on whether Alaskans want to keep it. A measure to repeal ranked-choice voting in is on the ballot in 2024 in that state. Opponents say the system needs more transparency and is confusing for the general voter.
Thiry said he believes the real problem in Alaska is that a small group of Republicans has controlled Alaska’s election outcomes for years. In 2022, the control ended when a Democrat upset former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for a U.S. House seat. The governor seat went to a conservative, and the state’s senate seat went to a moderate Republican.
These outcomes, Thiry said, mean ranked-choice voting worked the way it is supposed to in Alaska.
Implementing a new voting system in Colorado could also prove costly, as it did in Alaska, where more than $3.5 million was spent to educate voters on how it worked in the first year.
According to Colorado’s annual election blue book, the Department of State’s spending will increase by about $100,000 in the first year and around $6 million per year in future years. The costs are associated with software updates, redesigning ballots, conducting voter outreach, and hiring additional staff.
Colorado Voters First, which backs Proposition 131, so far raised more than $8.4 million, with Thiry donating more than $1 million. Unite America has contributed more than $4.7 million.
Voter Rights Colorado, which opposes the measure, has raised more than $35,000.
If approved, ranked choice voting, as written, could start in the 2026 elections.
Currently, 18 states in the U.S. allow ranked-choice voting in some form, with Hawaii, Alaska, and Maine using the system in federal and statewide elections.
States that currently prohibit ranked-choice voting are Florida, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota and Tennessee.
Also considering it this year are Oregon, Idaho, Missouri, and Nevada.
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Publish date : 2024-09-26 04:30:00
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