Colorado voters will decide whether to overhaul election system, adopt statewide ranked choice voting

Initiative 310, which qualified Thursday to be on the November ballot, would change most of Colorado’s primaries so candidates from all parties run against each other, followed by a ranked choice voting general election

By Jesse Paul1:31 PM MDT on Aug 29, 2024

LKY: WE MUST VOTE NO ON THIS ISSUE!!!

Colorado voters will decide in November whether to make a series of major changes to the state’s election system. 

Initiative 310, which qualified Thursday to be on the November ballot, would change most of Colorado’s primaries so candidates from all parties run against each other, followed by a ranked choice voting general election. 

The supporters of the measure, led by Kent Thiry, the wealthy former CEO of Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita, needed to collect more than 125,000 voter signatures to get the initiative on the ballot. 

In ranked choice voting elections, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If a candidate wins more than 50% of the first-preference votes, they are declared the winner. If no candidate reaches that threshold, candidates with the fewest first-preference supporters are eliminated. The process continues until one candidate exceeds 50% of the total vote.  

But if the initiative passes, it won’t go into effect right away — if ever. That’s because of a controversial clause added to Senate Bill 210, which was passed by the legislature this year.

The clause requires 12 Colorado municipalities in counties of a certain size and with a specific demographic makeup to conduct ranked choice elections before a ranked choice election could be used in a race for state or federal office. Additionally, the amendment said that Colorado could not move to the new primary system proposed by Colorado Voters First until that requirement has been met.

Gov. Jared Polis nearly vetoed Senate Bill 210, a broader elections measure, because of the clause, which was added in the final days of the General Assembly’s lawmaking term and first reported publicly by The Colorado Sun. Polis said the provision may violate the state constitution — and at least was designed to frustrate the will of voters.

Polis wrote in a statement explaining his decision to sign the bill that he thinks statewide ranked choice voting could be implemented in Colorado by 2028. He vowed to convene state leaders to make that happen.

As written, the measure is meant to go into effect in 2026. It would apply to races for Congress, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, state board of education and University of Colorado regents, as well as state legislative contests. It would not apply to presidential or local contests, like those for district attorney or county commissioner.

Colorado Voters First, the issue committee backing Initiative 310, has been heavily funded by Thiry.

Colorado Voters First had raised $2.5 million through June 26. Thiry accounted for $1 million of that, while Unite America, which Thiry is on the board of, gave the committee another $1 million.

Walmart heir Ben Walton gave Colorado Voters First $250,000 in June, as did Marc Merrill, a video game developer.

The group will next report its fundraising and spending Sept. 3. Here are some of the consultants it has paid so far:

• Former Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams

• Republican strategist Tyler Sandberg

• Political consultant Sage Naumann, who was formerly the communications director for the Colorado Senate Republican caucus

• Elections expert Amber McReynolds, who used to lead Denver’s Elections Division and is now on the U.S. Postal Service board of governors 

• Political strategist Curtis Hubbard, who often works with Democratic candidates and causes

• Political strategist Anthony Carlson, who has a history of working with Democratic candidates

Thiry also gave $1.2 million to Let Colorado Vote Action, a group related to Initiative 310 that spent money in legislative primaries this year.

“This initiative is based on two simple principles: Any voter should have the freedom to vote for any candidate in every taxpayer-funded election; and a candidate must receive support from a majority of voters to be elected,” said Hubbard, a spokesman for Colorado Voters First. “Our current system limits voter choices and gives too much power to political insiders and special interests. In November we can send the message that elections belong to voters — not political parties.”

Voter Rights Colorado, a group opposing Initiative 310 that’s backed by a list of progressive organizations, has started raising money, too, albeit to a much lesser extent. The committee received $20,000 from Coloradans For Accessible and Secure Elections, a nonprofit created in December that doesn’t disclose its donors.

“This ballot measure is asking Colorado to elect half our candidates under an overwhelmingly complicated system and half under our current system,” state Rep. Lorena Garcia, an Adams County Democrat and a member of the Voters Rights Colorado coalition, said in a written statement. “Kent Thiry and his billionaire buddies have decided to disrupt our elections and dump an expensive tab and confusing mess of an election plan on Colorado taxpayers.”

Just a handful of Colorado cities and towns currently use ranked choice voting in their municipal elections.