Politicians frequently say, “This election is the most important of our lifetimes.” It is a well-worn cliche, but it is often true.
This year in Colorado, the most important vote you cast will actually be for future elections. Proposition 131 will change the way we conduct our elections so that voters have better choices and more opportunities to make selections that truly matter.
We believe that elections belong to voters, not to political parties, which is why we are urging our fellow Coloradans to vote ‘yes’ on Prop 131.
Currently, party insiders and special interests often control our election choices because election rules allow them to essentially hand-pick their preferred candidates. Prop 131 makes it harder for insiders to pre-determine the results of our elections and gives voters more choices.
Instead of low-turnout primaries where voters are limited to choosing a single party’s ballot, Prop 131 creates an open primary where all candidates appear on a single ballot. The open primary lets any voter, regardless of party affiliation or lack of affiliation, vote for a single candidate in every race. A voter could vote for a Republican for one office, a Democrat for a different office, a Unity Party candidate for a third office and an unaffiliated candidate for a fourth office.
The top four vote-getters then advance to the November General Election, where voters can rank their preferences. If a candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters, that candidate wins. But if no candidate gets a majority, an instant-runoff is used to determine the winner. The candidate with the lowest support is eliminated, the second-choice selections from voters who supported the eliminated candidate are distributed among the remainder of the field, and the process continues until one candidate earns majority support.
Over 60 jurisdictions across the country have enacted ranked voting. The reform has been shown to improve voter choices, limit negative campaigning (candidates don’t want to alienate voters who might rank them second or third); and to encourage more women and candidates of color to run for office.
But don’t take our word for it.
A September analysis by the group FairVote determined that ranked-choice voting “is one of the best strategies we have to lower the temperature in politics and make government work better. Winners of RCV elections are the candidates who can build both deep and broad support. It rewards civility, candidate outreach to more voters, and issues-focused campaigns.”
In April of last year, MIT’s Election Science and Data Lab noted there is “an extensive body of literature supporting the notion that IRV increases representation for marginalized gender and racial groups.”
Defenders of the status quo like to say that Prop 131 is too confusing or will be too difficult to implement. Those are the same arguments that were used to oppose the switch to all-mail ballots, same-day voter registration, and allowing independent voters to vote in primaries. They weren’t true then, and they’re not true now. (In fact, we have tremendous faith in Colorado voters and our excellent election clerks to once again rise to the occasion.)
Finally, as you listen to opponents of Prop 131, ask yourself whether they, their party, or their preferred special interest benefit from the current system. In almost every case, the answer will be “yes.”
On the other side are organizations like ours, that put the interests of voters first, and a diverse selection of civic groups, current and former elected officials, and individuals from across the political spectrum who understand that partisanship is holding us back and that a good step to improve the quality of elected officials is to give voters more choices.
Proposition 131 will give all Colorado voters a voice and a vote that matters in our elections. Please join us in voting ‘yes.’
Toni Larson, Ph.D, is a two-time president of the League of Women Voters of Colorado. Tony Haas is a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Army who now serves as the Colorado state task force lead for Veterans for All Voters.
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