In 2016, Colorado voters passed a ballot measure granting unaffiliated voters the opportunity to participate in the primaries. In this year’s state election, these changes will come into effect both on a local and statewide front. Unaffiliated voters have been excluded from the primaries in past elections, Larimer County clerk and recorder Angela Myers said. With recent changes to the Colorado election process, however, independent voters will receive both the Democrat and Republican ballots. The purpose of this change is to give the opportunity for unaffiliated voters to have a say in the outcome of the parties, as they have not been allowed that right in the past, said Kristin Stephens, Fort Collins city councilmember and chair of the election subcommittee.
Previously, unaffiliated voters would not receive a ballot unless they requested one, Myers said.
“In the past, the parties alone would be the ones to select their candidates,” Myers said. “Now, unaffiliated voters will have the opportunity to contribute their vote.”
With these recent changes, unaffiliated voters will receive both ballots and will have the opportunity to select the candidate they please.
Full Article: Colorado election changes brings primary voting to unaffiliated voters – The Rocky Mountain Collegian.