On July 12th.,the Western Colorado Independent Voters (WCIV) met at the Glenwood Springs Library for their Monthly Meeting. The Primary Topic of discussion was Analyzing the Independent Voter Turn-Out at Colorado's First Semi-Closed Primary on June 26th.
A Semi-Closed Primary is one in which Party-Affiliated Voters must Cast Votes in their Party's Primary, and Non-Affiliated Voters can Choose which Major Party's Primary to Vote in.
Out of over 12,000 Ballots Mailed to Independents in Garfield County, only 2,800 Ballots were Returned. This was typical of other Counties in Western Colorado. While the Voter Turn-Out overall was 31%, the Turn-Out for Independents was 20%. Out of 1.5 Million Registered Independent Voters in Colorado, only 291,000 Voted. The most Votes Cast by Independents were in the Metro-Denver area, which is highly Populated.
Among the Questions raised at the WCIV Meeting were:
- Were Independents making a Statement by Not Voting, signaling that there was Virtually No Change to the Undemocratic Election Process?
- Are they Frustrated by having to Vote for Democrat or Republican Parties in every Election?
- Are they fed-up with Taxpayers Funding Primary Elections for Democratic and Republican Parties in every Election?
There were many more Probing Questions raised as well.
Having Analyzed that the New Semi-Closed Primary was a Temporary Fix or Non-Fix for Independents and Third Parties, Randy Fricke, led a Discussion on possible Ballot Initiatives in 2020.
He pointed out that California, Maine, and Washington have all Replaced Partisan Primaries with either Top-Two Primaries or Ranked-Choice Primaries, both of which are more Democratic than Closed Partisan Primaries.
Since many People were Unfamiliar with these Election Alternatives, it was agreed that Randy would bring more Detailed Information to WCIV's next Meeting on Wednesday, August 15th, at 7 PM at the Glenwood Springs Library.
Fricke indicated that WCIV could be the First Independent Voter Group to propose a New, more Democratic Election System in Colorado.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
