It's primary election season in Colorado, and the KVNF news team is working to make sure that you are informed about what is on your ballot.
Voters will get the ballot for the party they’re affiliated with. Registered voters affiliated with Colorado Democratic Party, Colorado Republican Party, Libertarian Party of Colorado, or Unity Party of Colorado by June 8 will receive only the ballot of the party with which they are affiliated.
Colorado has a semi-closed primary system, which means that if you’re registered with a party, you can’t vote in another party’s primary. Unaffiliated voters will receive ballots for both Democratic and Republican primaries. But they’re only allowed to return ONE. Returning more than one ballot will result in both of them being cancelled.
A lot of local candidates are running unopposed in their primaries, so primary ballots will have a lot of county seats where voters only have one option, and in these cases the candidate will advance to the general election no matter how many votes they receive later this month.
In Montrose County, registered Republicans and independents will have to choose between two Republican candidates for County Assessor, and two candidates running for County Coroner. And in Delta, Republicans will have to choose between two candidates for Sheriff.
For our listeners in Ouray County there are no contested seats in this year’s primary election. There are six candidates on the ballot and are a running as unaffiliated. All of the candidates in this primary election will advance to the general election in November.
As for the state legislature, State House District 54 covers the Western half of Delta county, and most of Mesa County– excluding Grand Junction. There are two Republicans running in that race, Nina Anderson and Jason Bias. The winner there will face off against Democrat Martin Mallory in November. House District 58 also covers a good chunk of the KVNF listening area, but only has one candidate from each party running.
In the coming weeks, ahead of the primaries at the end of the month, we’re going to be airing clips with local candidates who are running in contested primaries, so you can get to know them better. We’ll hear from candidates running unopposed in their primaries later on, when they face inter-party opponents on the November general ballot.
When more voters participate in a primary election, it helps ensure that the candidates in the general election are more representative of the people. Primary elections also foster healthy debates and the exchange of ideas, creating a more knowledgeable electorate. As voters evaluate candidate qualifications, track records, and policy positions, they become more informed, and the eventual winning candidate is more thoroughly vetted.