Your ZIP code is a telltale sign of the effectiveness of the democratic process in the United States, and it turns out Coloradans are among the lucky ones.
The Center for American Progress Action Fund examined 22 metrics to determine the health of our state democracy in three key areas:
1. Accessibility of the ballot, such as voter identification laws, availably of preregistration and in-person early voting and voting wait time.
2. Representation in state government, such as ballot initiative laws and female and communities of color representation.
3. Influence in the political system, such as campaign disclosure and judicial recusal laws as well as open legislative data.
Colorado ranked third.
Maine came in first, Alabama was dead last.
The bad news is that Colorado’s third-place ranking came with a grade of B in accessibility of the ballot, B for representation in state government and B- for influence, so there’s work to be done.
Visit www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/civil-liberties/report/2015/07/07/116570/the-health-of-state-democracies to learn more.
Herald Staff
