How ranked choice voting would work in Colorado
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Right now, when you vote in Colorado, you pick one candidate in each race.
Yes, but: If Proposition 131 passes in November, you'll get to sort the contenders by preference in what's known as ranked choice voting.
Why it matters: Before voters decide whether to support the shift, they first need to understand how it works.
State of play: Proposition 131 asks voters for two major changes.
- First, it eliminates the traditional party primaries where Democrats and Republicans pick their own candidates.
- Second, it advances the top four vote-getters from the open primary to a general election decided by ranked choice voting.
How it works: Ranked choice voting allows you to mark your first choice and then gives you the option — it's not required — to rank the remaining candidates in order of preference.
- To win, a candidate needs more than 50% of the vote.
- If the threshold isn't reached, the counting moves to the second round in which the lowest voter-getter is eliminated and the candidates' votes are transferred to others based on the second preference indicated on the ballot.
- The process repeats itself until one candidate gets over 50% of the vote.
The intrigue: Boulder used ranked choice voting for the first time in its mayoral race and allowed a centrist candidate to win because he was the second preference for supporters of the rivals on either end of the spectrum.
Between the lines: The system would only apply to elections for Congress, statewide office, state board of education, CU regent and the Legislature.
The other side: Opponents say it's a solution in search of a problem — and right now, Colorado's elections are a national standard that doesn't need fixing.
- Moreover, they point to studies showing voters are 10 times more likely to make a mistake and invalidate their ballot because it is confusing.
The big picture: If approved, it would cost the state about $21 million to convert its election system to a ranked choice method. And it will take much more to educate voters about how it works.