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More corporate money flows into Colorado’s ranked-choice voting, open primary ballot initiative Proposition 131
Robert Tann - Oct 30, 2024
Wealthy donors with corporate ties have driven millions of dollars in new fundraising for Proposition 131 — the ballot measure seeking to overhaul Colorado’s election system — in the campaign’s final days.
Total contributions now stand at nearly $16 million, easily making it the most costly ballot measure or the 14 proposals facing Colorado voters this November, according to campaign finance reports as of Monday, Oct. 28.
This story was also published in Vail Daily. You can read that article here.
At $14 million and counting, election reform measure is one of Colorado’s most expensive ever
Chase Woodruff - Oct, 31, 2024
Backing from wealthy donors and corporate interests fuels Proposition 131 campaign… The spending puts Colorado Voters First in rarefied company, as one of only nine statewide issue campaigns in the last 30 years to exceed $10 million in expenditures in a single election cycle. It’s a level of spending typically only reached in ballot fights over proposals that would impact a single business or industry’s bottom line…
No on Proposition 131: Who Does It Really Help?
Portia Prescott, President of the Rocky Mountain NAACP CO-WY-MT State Conference – Oct. 27, 2024
Ranked-choice voting isn't just theoretical; I've seen it in practice. I worked on a 2021 campaign in New York City for a Black candidate in Brooklyn under a ranked-choice voting system, and the results were concerning. The system created confusion and used a Black candidate's popularity to gain second-choice votes from her community without giving her a real shot at winning. Fundraising became more competitive and, ultimately, the system was designed to favor those with more resources.
National Elections Expert, Pam Anderson, Opposes Prop 131
Oct. 27,2024
As someone who has worked on Colorado elections for decades, I have been asked to explain why I’m voting NO on Proposition 131, a ballot measure that would drastically change our elections.
I start by telling them that it is a confusing mash-up of policies that would produce increased errors resulting in invalidated votes and likely not solve the political divisiveness the ads hint it will fix. It’s half-baked, covers only half the candidates and only tells half the story.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren: Say No to Checkbook Politics & CO Proposition 131
Oct. 25, 2024
“Colorado voters should reject Proposition 131 — an election reform that is a wolf in sheep’s clothing —completely funded by billionaires to tilt the political landscape toward their own special interests. Instead of actual election reform, a handful of super wealthy donors are attempting to change the system with a confusing voting system that decreases election transparency in favor of special interests. I encourage every Colorado voter, regardless of their party or lack of party affiliation to vote for less influence from the billionaire class. Vote NO on Prop. 131.”
Ranked-choice proposition a solution in search of a problem
Diana DeGette - Oct. 23 , 2024
At a time when election deniers are spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation to undermine trust in our elections, the last thing Colorado needs is a system that casts even more doubt on the results. Prop 131 would be a step in the wrong direction, and we must reject it to protect the integrity of our elections.
Dissecting Proposition 131
Wayne Williams - Oct. 20, 2024
In addition to these costs, candidates must raise and spend more money to reach additional voters seeking to be their second or third choice. Government limits on third-party donations mean that wealthy candidates who can self-fund their campaigns will have an even greater electoral advantage.
Think your ballot was cumbersome this year? Just wait for ranked-choice voting
Krista Kafer - Oct. 20, 2024
It’s no wonder ranked choice voting is up for repeal in Alaska this November. Let’s not start. Vote no on Initiative 131.
Do we really want a gang of rich guys to tell us how to do election reform in Colorado?
Mike Littwin - Oct. 20, 2024
“From what I can see, the people most likely to benefit (from Prop 131) would be those with unrestricted sources of dark money. And if we do change our system and it doesn’t work as they say it would, we may never be able to change it back again.”
No on Prop 131: Preserving Colorado’s Excellent System of Elections
Senator Michael Bennet - Oct. 13, 2024
Since Citizens United, our nation’s elections have been flooded with almost $3 billion in dark money. Colorado is no exception. This deluge of money mocks the principle of one person, one vote and threatens to shred our exercise in self-government.
Proposition 131 would make the situation even worse.
Colorado isn’t ready for ranked-choice voting, yet
Denver Post Editorial Board - Oct. 14, 2024
“…we think implementing a drastic change now could be disastrous.”
This Colorado clerk is among the few with ranked choice experience. Here’s what she says about Proposition 131.
Jesse Paul - Oct. 14, 2024
“If you ask me right now, at this moment, if I know that 64 counties can implement this, the answer is resoundingly ‘no,’…And we need to take that seriously.”
Take the time to understand implications of complicated ballot measures
Daily Camera Editorial - Oct. 13, 2024
“…Prop 131’s open primaries would also likely result in attempts to game the system, like those that have been seen in Alaska, where candidates have — counterintuitively — dropped out of races to give an edge to their party.”
ENDORSEMENT: Vote 'no' on prop 131, ranked-choice voting
Gazette Editorial Board - Oct. 10, 2024
Colorado’s defective political parties have created problems the rest of us must fix. We must get it right the first time. Ranked-choice voting, sadly, isn’t the answer.
Proposition 131 is not worth the confusion and delays it would add to Colorado’s voting system
Joan Fitz-Gerald - Oct. 8, 2024
Thiry spent millions on a 2018 campaign to change Colorado’s redistricting process to make districts more competitive and now he’s complaining the districts aren’t competitive. Why would we trust him to upend our election system?
Dave Young: Prop 131 is based on false promises
Dave Young - Oct. 9, 2024
Finally, more candidates in the primary and general means more dark money because candidates will have to break out of the pack. Look no further than last June’s primary when 131’s big money backer, Kent Thiry, dumped $1.1 million into ads for his favored primary candidates just before primary election day.
Vote no on 131 for democracy’s sake.
Proposition 131 is too complex and expensive
Chuck Broerman - Oct. 8, 2024
Don’t be fooled by Proposition 131 — it’s a complicated mess that will cost taxpayers $21 million in the first three years and likely won’t do anything it promises to do.
Prop 131 brings more money into politics
Aly Belknap - Oct. 9, 2024
You will hear a lot about the proposed benefits of this new election model. However, Prop 131 is a step in the wrong direction for our democracy. Colorado should continue making strides to limit the role of big money in elections, and this measure undercuts our progress. We urge voters to vote “no” on Prop 131.
Election officials concerned about impacts of Prop 131
Sheila Reiner - Oct. 6, 2024
Election officials across the state are worried about voter confusion and the potential for mismarked ballots not counting. Independent research shows that a vote cast in ranked-choice voting elections is 10 times more likely to have a mistake that will invalidate the vote without the voter’s knowledge.
REP. IMAN JODEH: No to Prop 131 – It’s too confusing
State Rep. Iman Jodeh - Oct. 1, 2024
“Both Republican and Democratic county clerks, who run our elections statewide, were never consulted about 131 and have raised red flags about whether it can be implemented correctly with the available resources and in the proposed tight time frame. We should take their concerns seriously. They support a commonsense plan to test this model in several different counties before we attempt to implement it statewide.
This is not a partisan battle. This is a democratic battle to ensure our elections remain safe, secure, accurate, and voter-friendly. Vote no on Prop 131.”
Kent Thiry won’t give up on reforming Colorado’s elections. But is Proposition 131 the right formula for change?
Seth Klamann - Sept. 29, 2024
“But when you have to go change the system like this to get different outcomes, it needs a lot of examination to make sure it doesn’t hurt the process and hurt voters. And right now, we’re not convinced.”
Many invalidated ballots likely to result from Proposition 131
Evie Hudak - Sept. 17, 2024
Proposition 131 is promoted as being focused on ranked-choice voting, but it is much more about implementing radical changes to the primary election system and restricting voter choice in the general election. The proposition would complicate the voting process, favor wealthier candidates, confuse voters, and fail to deliver a better system.
Meet Kent Thiry, the money behind changing Colorado elections
John Frank - Sept. 17, 2024
Thiry, she says, is "an egomaniac who thinks he has the answer to everything."
The multimillionaire who reshaped Colorado’s electoral system wants to make even bigger changes
Andrew Kenney - Aug. 20, 2024
His critics, including prominent elections officials, see Thiry as a bull in a china shop, throwing around his weight and leaving others to clean up the mess, whether it’s by revising his proposals or hitting his aggressive timelines.
“It seems like when you get to a certain place, financially … you can just snap your fingers and think it gets done that easily,” said Matt Crane, a former Republican county clerk and the executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association. “And that's certainly not the case” with election system changes, he added.
Opinion: Think ranked-choice voting is good for Denver elections? Data tells a different story
Kevin Flynn - Aug. 20, 2024
…That’s because ranked-choice voting rarely produces a majority winner.
How so? Isn’t ranked choice a sort of “instant runoff,” letting us replace our 72-year tradition of guaranteeing a majority result through a runoff election?
No, it is a confusing and opaque way of reverting to the old plurality voting system, where whoever gets more votes wins regardless of percentage….
In my analysis of 51 elections across the country decided by the ranked-choice method, only eight “winners” had a true majority of the votes that were cast. But of those eight mayoral elections decided by ranked choice in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Oakland, Portland and New York, not a single one resulted in a true majority winner. Even incumbents failed to get a true majority.
The Case Against Ranked Choice Voting
July 24, 2024
Proposed changes to Colorado election laws need greater reality testing before we try to go statewide
Lori Mitchell & Carly Koppes - Jun 27, 2024
Every year, we “tweak” Colorado election laws to accommodate what we learned from past elections to make improvements. For instance, we have expanded election laws to increase the number of voting centers and ballot drop-boxes across the state, expanded voter access on college campuses, instituted automatic voter registration, expanded multi-lingual ballot access and required post-election accuracy and transparency checks.
We will need significant infrastructure updates and time if the new model is approved by voters. New software would need to be developed for RCV on two voting systems (Dominion and Clear Ballot) and election workers would need to be trained to use the software. Citizen election judges also will need to be retrained.
Two counties use voting systems that are not certified for RCV, which will require retraining and will make statewide post-election accuracy audits problematic. Also critical will be significant voter education, which is always necessary when there is a major change to elections, to prevent voter confusion and voter error that would nullify a vote.
Research from the University of Pennsylvania, MIT, University of Minnesota and others indicates that RCV has caused voter confusion in other states and can lead to increased voter error. These same studies indicate there was decreased voter participation, particularly among minorities, younger, less informed and marginalized voters.
Colorado's clerks advocate for ballot access for all
Matt Crane - Jun 18, 2024
Three different election models in the same year — this simple example demonstrates a clear need for additional voter education, support, and a reasonable runway for implementation for changes. In some counties, current voting equipment cannot count ranked-choice ballots. Parts of the system responsible for reporting results must be significantly upgraded. And Colorado’s existing auditing following each election will have to be reworked entirely across all 64 counties. We won’t apologize for calling these significant issues out and insisting we have the needed time and investment to ensure we can run safe and accurate elections…
County clerks will always advocate for every tool and resource needed to ensure every eligible voter in their county has the ability to vote their conscience in each election. And we won’t apologize for that, regardless of how loud our opponents are, or how much money they are willing to spend.
If Kent Thiry’s latest election initiative upends Colorado politics, it would be the first time
Chase Woodruff - June 12, 2024
Twice before, ex-DaVita CEO has bankrolled reforms that changed processes, but not outcomes
Kent Thiry: Democracy Defender or Real-Life Monopoly Man?
Ray Manzari - March 29, 2024
His leadership at DaVita was marked by a focus on corporate profitability and efficiency in some cases over the lives of his patients. DaVita, under the leadership of Thiry, engaged in considerably anti-labor practices and in more than one case fought against fair and equal access to healthcare.
Thiry’s significant financial involvement in Colorado politics, combined with the controversies surrounding his business practices and legal entanglements, has raised serious questions about the fairness and integrity of money in politics.
As Kent Thiry Pushes for Election Reform in Colorado, Local Activists Push Back
Amos Barshard - March. 06, 2024
Opponents say that under the guise of saving democracy, Unite America wants to mute the power of political parties altogether, and what that may leave is a playing field ostensibly open to all but in reality quickly dominated by the ultra-rich. Lee Drutman, senior fellow at the left-of-center think tank New America, has argued that under open primaries, parties “become brands anybody can purchase for enough money.”