Possibility of ranked-choice voting in Colorado faces a hurdle with new law

DENVER – As a Colorado group gathers signatures to put a measure on the ballot, install ranked choice voting In the state, Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill Thursday that would impose another hurdle on the new system if the measure passes.

If ranked-choice voting reaches the ballot box in Colorado, the state’s voters would join those in Oregon, Alaska, and Nevada, which will decide on ranked-choice voting in November. If the ballot measure passes, the new law signed by Polis would require ranked-choice voting to be tested first at the county level before being used statewide, delaying implementation.

The group Colorado Voters First, which is leading the campaign to get ranked-choice voting on the November ballot, condemned the bill’s provision as an attempt to effectively stop ranked-choice voting and called on the governor to veto the bill.

Polis attempted to calm concerns after signing the legislation, saying that if the measure passes, they will work quickly to install ranked-choice voting statewide “as quickly as possible and certainly no later than the 2028 election.”

Curtis Hubbard, a spokesperson for Colorado Voters First, said in a statement that they are disappointed but will continue to move forward “for the rights of any voter to vote in any election.”

Colorado county officials were largely in favor of the controversial provision, which would allow them to iron out kinks in the new system before it is used statewide.

The Colorado Voters First initiative would open the primary election to all candidates. The top four would advance to the general election, where voters would rank the candidates rather than choosing just one. Ranked voting diminishes the power of the two major parties, and battles over its use have been driven, in part, by deep dissatisfaction with hyperpartisan politics.

Only two states use ranked-choice voting, Maine for state primaries and federal elections and Alaska for state and federal general elections.

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Bedayn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover undercovered issues.