Colorado Democrats’ gatherings over the past two weekends to help pick which candidates will be on the party’s primary ballot in June were beset with technical difficulties that have led to confusion and consternation from some who attended.
There are also concerns about whether the glitches cost party delegates their voice in the caucus and assembly process.
This story was produced as part of the Colorado Capitol News Alliance. It first appeared at cpr.org.
In previous years, the process was run with paper ballots and in-person voting. This year was the first time the party introduced voting by app.
Delegates described using Airtable, a business workflow app that is not designed to run elections, to register their votes.
The software struggled to handle the high volume of users throughout the process, and finally crashed toward the end of the day on March 14.
“People are getting pretty tired and upset at that point in time,” said Democrat Iris Halpern, who is running to represent House District 6 and hoping to serve as a delegate in several statewide races at the party convention in Pueblo later this month. “I think most people tried to be patient and stick with it. But I’m pretty sure we probably did lose some folks throughout the day.”
Democratic state Rep. Steven Woodrow of Denver said it wasn’t exactly clear what went wrong with the app.
“There were certainly tech issues,” Woodrow said. “The state party has been trying a new program, which has a lot of benefits to it in terms of its organizational value and ease of use. At the same time, it looks like there might’ve been capacity issues, especially impacting larger counties like Denver.”
Like any new system, he said, there are going to be kinks to work out.
One Democrat who attended the caucus in Denver in the hopes of being selected as a delegate for attorney general candidate Jena Griswold said she went to the caucus in person and stayed for almost eight hours in the hopes the technology would get sorted out.
“They announced it was going to be a mobile or a remote vote, and then I left. It turned out they did a paper vote,” said the delegate hopeful, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. “So several of us left, so I don’t know in the end what happened.”
Democratic caucusgoers in Adams County weigh their options on March 7, 2026. (Lucas Brady Woods, KUNC via the Colorado Capitol News Alliance) Credit: Lucas Brady Woods / KUNC via the Colorado Capitol News AllianceAt other assembly sites, frustrated delegates were left to their own devices to figure out how to record their votes.
“They were trying to fix the actual technology problem, but they just were unable to do it, which is when we kind of had to do things on the fly,” Halpern said. “They didn’t have an actual backup process. We were having to make suggestions, debate, and brainstorm how we were even going to vote.”
Deep Singh Badhesha, a volunteer for Democrat Melat Kiros’ congressional campaign, said that the software was especially problematic in assigning delegates to particular geographic areas. If candidates failed to do so, they might not get their full contingent of delegates at the multicounty assemblies in the coming month.
Kiros’s campaign instead used paper lists. Kiros is challenging U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette in the Democratic primary.
State party says data “more accurate” but frustration understandable.
The caucus and assembly process is one way Democratic and Republican candidates in Colorado can earn a spot on the primary ballot.
Party members have been meeting at precinct-level caucuses to choose assembly delegates, who will ultimately pick primary candidates at the state and congressional district assemblies later this month.
Even in the best of times, it’s a complex, chaotic system.
Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib was not immediately available for an interview this week, but said in a statement that the party strives to provide a quality experience for delegates.
“Due to high turnout, the digital system was stressed and slowed, which led to delays,” he said. “The system didn’t crash and the data remained intact, though we know the delays were frustrating for people who participated.”
He added the experience will be “a lesson learned” for 2028 and the party looks forward to moving ahead “with the rest of this democratic process.”
Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib speaks at a pro-union rally at the Colorado Capitol in Denver on Nov. 19, 2024. (Jesse Paul, The Colorado Sun)But some Democrats say it’s a lesson the party had plenty of time to absorb — and act on — before the system meltdown on Saturday. The new software, glitches and all, was rolled out a week prior, during an earlier round of Democratic county assemblies.
In Garfield County, which held its assembly on March 7, the technology was slow.
Democratic state Rep. Elizabeth Velasco from Glenwood Springs said people waited so long on a Zoom call that they lost a quorum and had to reschedule the vote.
But despite the logistical challenges, she said she appreciates everyone who participated and stands by the process.
“It’s a commitment to our democracy and to make our voices heard, it’s an inclusive grassroots way to elect candidates for the ballot,” she said. “Around 40 different counties had their caucus on the same day and that put a strain on the online system. I was proud to see patience and grace as we followed the rules to get our candidates on the ballot.”
Halpern said it’s a little disappointing that the Democratic party didn’t plan for a smoother process before some of the largest counties were gathering, putting further strain on the system.
“The first time they rolled it out, it had a lot of problems, but they somehow continued to use it,” Halpern said.
Campaigns are keeping an eye on what happens next
“We had some folks who were frustrated, and it’s unclear if they were able to cast their ballot,” said Fiona Boomer, campaign manager for Democrat Trisha Calvarese, who is trying to get on the primary ballot in the 4th Congressional District.
She said that delegates in Arapahoe County were sent home and had to vote via email.
But for all the consternation, it’s not clear that any candidates’ campaigns were upended by the software woes.
In the 1st Congressional District, where Kiros is challenging DeGette, the process is facing extra scrutiny after the incumbent faired so poorly at the Denver County Democratic assembly that her chances of making the primary ballot after decades in Congress appear at risk.
Incumbent Democratic U.S. House Rep. Diana DeGette speaks during an election watch party Nov. 8, 2022, in downtown Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)“We’re tracking all of the irregularities and major tech issues that happened at the Denver assembly,” said Jennie Peek-Dunstone, a spokesperson for the DeGette campaign. “But at the same time, Diana received more than the required threshold, and we’re confident she’s going to be on the primary ballot in June.”
It’salso unlcear how many assemblies and delegates were affected by the glitches.
For instance, Daniel Fitzstephens, an experienced delegate in Denver, said he wasn’t fazed at all by this year’s process.
“It’s always a bit of a confusing mess,” Fitzstephens said. “This was no more confusing a mess than any other times I’ve participated.”
Colorado Sun staff writer Jesse Paul contributed to this report.
This story was produced by the Capitol News Alliance, a collaboration between KUNC News, Colorado Public Radio, Rocky Mountain PBS, and The Colorado Sun, with support from news outlets throughout the state. Startup funding for the Alliance was provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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