Elections in Colorado

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Elections in Colorado are held to fill various local, state and federal positions. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time.

Contents

In a 2020 study, Colorado was ranked 7th among the 50 states for ease of voting in presidential elections. [1]

Electoral system

Electoral precincts are drawn by the county clerk and recorder and have on average 1365 registered voters. [2] [3]

Party system

A political organization is a political party when its candidate for governor receives at least 10 percent of the vote in the latest general election. [4] Party members choose their party's nominees for the general election in a primary election. [5] Party members also elect the county central committee members at the primary election. [6] Colorado uses an open primary system, whereby party members and unaffiliated voters may vote in the party's primary. [7] [8] [9]

There are three distinct aspects of party organization: the committee system, the designating assembly system, and the convention system. [6] The systems operate with respect to public offices for the state, counties, US congressional districts, state senatorial districts, state representative districts, and state judicial districts. (Judicial district elections only concern the district attorney; [10] district court and county court judges are nominated by a judicial nominating commission of the judicial district. [11] )

To be designated to contest the party's nomination at a primary election, a candidate must receive at least 30 percent of the delegates' votes at a party assembly. [23] Candidates may also petition party members to contest the primary election, with at least 20 percent of the party members (of those registered within that political subdivision) for offices of or within a county, 30 percent for districts larger than a county, and 2 percent for statewide offices. [24] [10]

Election procedure

A combination of local caucuses, primaries and general elections determines the top state offices (Governor, Secretary of State and Attorney General), as well as U.S. and state legislative races. Presidential races are decided by primary and general elections, with no caucuses. Legislation passed in 2016 instituted open primaries beginning with the 2018 races, and eliminated caucuses for presidential races starting in 2020. [9] [25]

Electoral history

Federal

State

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Caucus</span>

The Colorado Caucus is the electoral process used in Colorado to appoint candidates for certain political offices and start the process of electing new leaders for political party leadership. It takes the form of a series of precinct caucuses, meetings of registered electors within a precinct who are members of a particular major political party. The purpose of precinct caucuses is to elect precinct committee persons and delegates to county assemblies, including those that elect delegates to the presidential nominating conventions.

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References

Citations

  1. J. Pomante II, Michael; Li, Quan (15 Dec 2020). "Cost of Voting in the American States: 2020". Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy. 19 (4): 503–509. doi: 10.1089/elj.2020.0666 .
  2. C.R.S. § 1-5-101
  3. US House Administration Subcommittee on Elections (2008). Oversight Hearing on Election Day Registration and Provisional Voting. GPO. pp. 143–157. ISBN   9780160807657. LCCN   2008412693.
  4. Lorch 1991, p. 128.
  5. Lorch 1991, p. 125.
  6. 1 2 Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 167.
  7. Lorch 1991, p. 127.
  8. 1 2 Cronin & Loevy 1993, p. 133.
  9. 1 2 3 Bianchi, Chris (2018-02-19). "Caucus? Primary? A Voters' Guide to Colorado's Elections". Westword. Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  10. 1 2 Cronin & Loevy 1993, p. 136.
  11. Cronin & Loevy 1993, pp. 229–231.
  12. Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 168.
  13. 1 2 Cronin & Loevy 1993, pp. 132–134.
  14. 1 2 3 Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 170.
  15. 1 2 Cronin & Loevy 1993, pp. 136–137.
  16. 1 2 3 Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 171.
  17. Martin & Gomez 1976, pp. 169–171.
  18. Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 175.
  19. 1 2 Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 173.
  20. 1 2 Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 169.
  21. Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 174.
  22. Martin & Gomez 1976, p. 172.
  23. Cronin & Loevy 1993, pp. 131–132.
  24. Lorch 1991, pp. 130–131.
  25. "Primary Elections FAQs". Colorado Secretary of State. State of Colorado. Retrieved 5 September 2020.

Sources