Colorado Republican leaders on Saturday voted down an attempt by party activists to cancel the 2018 primary in order to prevent participation by unaffiliated voters. State voters last year approved changes that allowed Colorado’s 1.4 million unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in either the Democratic or Republican primary. The changes also included an “opt-out” provision that allowed for canceling primaries if the vast majority of a party’s leaders agree. In Saturday’s vote, 67 percent of the Republican central committee voted to stick with the primary system, versus 33 in favor of opting out, Republican Party spokesman Daniel Cole said. Party leaders also agreed to revisit the issue in two years, he said. The vote came after some Republicans activists said only party members should be able to participate in candidate selections, so that those chosen would better reflect GOP values.
But most party leaders and Republican elected officials said barring unaffiliated voters would hurt their chances in the general election because those voters would gravitate toward Democrats, Cole said. “The unaffiliated voters would have started to develop bonds of loyalty to these Democratic candidates because they’d be able to vote for them in the Democratic primary,” he said.
Rank-and-file Republicans who supported the use of a primary also could have been alienated if next year’s primary were cancelled, Cole said.
Unaffiliated voters represent the biggest voting bloc in Colorado. The state’s two major parties have about 1 million voters each.
Full Article: Colorado GOP votes down move to cancel 2018 primary | Myrtle Beach Sun News.