Without a primary and with either incomplete or inadequate caucus organizations, Colorado was not a player in this election year’s run up to selecting November’s presidential candidates. The primary was eliminated about 10 years ago because of cost, while Republicans had decided a year ago not to risk identifying too many presidential favorites at the caucus level and instead to have state leadership make that decision. As for the Democrats, Bernie Sanders’ surprisingly furious challenge to Hillary Clinton encouraged so many party members to participate in their caucus that the tallying fell short.
The mood now is to provide some certainty and discipline in the process for Coloradans by bringing back the primary, which will next be 2020.
When the legislative session ended last week, that went undone. The disagreement was just how “Republican” and how “Democrat” a registered unaffiliated voter should be to participate on that primary day. There was general agreement that the unaffiliated should be able to choose a party and participate, as they are a third of the electorate, so that was not the issue. Rather, it was the degree of intensity of being a party member for a day that was not resolved.
In the House, the general consensus was that the unaffiliated would receive a pass of sorts that would allow them to participate in the party primary of their choice. They really would not lose their unaffiliated label.
In the Senate, more was desired. The consensus was that the unaffiliated should give up their unaffiliated designation and become a Republican, or a Democrat. Then, after participating in the primary, they would have to go through the existing procedure to return to their unaffiliated status.
Under the Senate language, participation would be a more weighty step.
Count us among those who favor the Senate position.
Political parties play an important role in American politics by setting general boundaries as to what is favored and what is not in economic, foreign policy and social issues (although this election’s Republican presidential candidate-to-be is upending that party with his several very significant different stances).
Parties help voters to sort out their own positions, serving up issues and underlying themes that should test their members’ thinking. Without parties, participation in democracy would decline.
Marking a primary ballot by the unaffiliated should require more than just knocking on a door and saying “Here I am, give me a pen,” and then going on with the day. Giving up the unaffiliated category and formally becoming a member of a major party is not too much to expect. Then, take the current steps to return to being unaffiliated.
This is not requiring land ownership to vote, as Thomas Jefferson believed in, or to have to pay a poll tax or pass an exam, which was done to prevent blacks from voting.
There is a chance, of course, that what transpires during the months leading up to the election of 2020 will be very different than what the country is experiencing now. But 2016’s events will not be forgotten for a long time, and not returning to a primary in Colorado would be a mistake. Let’s just require the unaffiliated to make an effort to participate.
