Denver Mayor Mike Johnston speaks in front of Denver City Hall to celebrate rental assistance provisions in the city’s budget on Nov. 14, 2023. (Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline)
The mayors of Colorado’s three largest cities have endorsed Proposition 131, a statewide ballot measure that proposes to eliminate single-party primaries and enact ranked-choice voting in most state and federal elections.
Mayors Mike Johnston, a Denver Democrat, Mike Coffman, an Aurora Republican and Yemi Mobolade, a Colorado Springs independent, announced their joint support of the measure on Thursday.
“Proposition 131 is a tool that will help empower the voters of Colorado, not political parties,” Mobolade said in a statement. “Almost half the voters in Colorado like me are registered independents, and it’s time for our election system to reflect the reality of that growing trend by eliminating the partisanship that currently undermines the true voice and values of the people.”
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, endorsed the proposition in late September.
The election reform measure would replace partisan primaries with a single primary for all candidates in elections for U.S. House, U.S. Senate, governor and other statewide executive offices, and the state Legislature. The top four vote-getters would advance to the general election. That general election would then be decided by ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, where voters rank candidates according to their preference.
The proposition is backed by Kent Thiry, the wealthy former CEO of DaVita who has also supported and bankrolled efforts to open Colorado’s primaries and establish independent redistricting commissions. Proponents argue that it would ultimately reduce polarization and encourage bipartisanship.
Colorado Voters First, the issue committee backing the proposition, has raised over $9.2 million and spent about $7.8 million.
Opponents of the proposition include the Colorado Democratic Party, the Colorado Republican Party, Democratic U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Denver and a coalition of state lawmakers.
They claim the proposed system is confusing and would ultimately benefit wealthy candidates. Election officials also worry about the cost and logistics in implementing such a system.
“Colorado has a secure and reliable voting system that has seen record voter participation. This initiative will introduce more money into our politics and add layers of confusion to a system that isn’t broken. At a time when election deniers are doing their best to break trust in our elections, this is the wrong time for such a drastic change,” DeGette said in a statement.
Voter Rights Colorado, the committee registered in opposition to Proposition 131, has raised about $83,000 and spent about $30,000.
The full text of the proposition is available online. The state’s Blue Book contains a nonpartisan summary and analysis.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.