Imagine designing Colorado’s election system from scratch today.
At the statehouse, you propose that candidates be selected via a multistep process where a self-selecting group picks a date and location that demands hours of travel and time away from work and family. You suggest that a handful of motivated friends can, in effect, rig participation and representation because the outcome is determined by such a small sample of voters.
The proposal would be instantly rejected as undemocratic and absurd.
Yet this is precisely the antiquated caucus-and-assembly system Colorado has used for over a century. While the intention may once have been “neighbor to neighbor,” it has evolved into one of the most complex, easy-to-manipulate systems in the country. It’s time we trade this 19th-century process for a 21st-century democracy.
Today, more than half of our state’s registered voters are independents, and the current structure completely locks them out of candidate selection. The party-controlled system grows less representative of the voting public with every cycle.
Caucus and assembly attendees this year can attest that participants were largely entrenched party loyalists or those activated by the extremes. These organized factions dominated delegate selection, delivering ballot spots primarily to candidates who appeal to the fringes, not the general electorate.
On the Republican side, far-right congressional challenger Ron Hanks — who entered the 3rd Congressional District race a day earlier — was the only candidate to qualify for the ballot through the assembly. Meanwhile, incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd was booed by the crowd for using the petition route.
On the Democratic side, the extreme faction was so dominant that sitting U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper quietly withdrew from the assembly process, preferring to gather signatures to qualify for the ballot. Sen. Michael Bennet, who is running for governor, did not participate at all.
The most egregious example came in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, where 15-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette narrowly made the ballot and was trounced by first-time candidate Melat Kiros, a Democratic Socialist. That outcome will look nothing like the final primary result, where voters get their say.
History shows that candidates who dominate the fractional turnout at party assemblies regularly lose in the primaries. Consider 2018, when former state Treasurer Cary Kennedy nearly doubled the delegate support of Democratic rival Jared Polis at assembly, then lost to him by almost 20 points in the primary. In 2024, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (CD-4) won his primary by 48 points after nearly being kept off the ballot at assembly. Such outcomes are symptoms of a fundamentally broken structure.
Colorado’s multistep process — precinct caucus, multiple county/CD assemblies, and the state assembly — is far from the democracy voters deserve. Instead, it is structurally designed to favor insiders at the detriment of mainstream voters — including independents — who are easily excluded from participation.
The focus on party loyalists also invites chaos. The Republican state assembly in Pueblo was plagued by multihour delays and an 80-vote discrepancy between the number of delegates scanned in and the number of votes cast, with delegates then voting to count the extra ballots.
The Democratic side wasn’t much better, as people waited hours to ensure their delegate votes were counted — and some were disenfranchised — due to a software snafu.
But there is a remedy: Follow the example of 44 other states and the District of Columbia that no longer rely on caucus and assembly to nominate candidates to the primaries. The simple move to a direct petition process that allows candidates to qualify for the primary ballot — with more realistic signature requirements that include Independent voters — shifts the power from party insiders to the voters.
The Colorado Legislature has the power to change the system, but lacks the political will. The current system benefits party leaders, who have a vested interest in preserving a process that ensures their access to power. Just the same, I have been privately approached by electeds from each party and asked to run a reform initiative.
Let the parties caucus to establish platforms, choose their leaders and even nominate candidates. But remember that voters own the elections, not political parties. If candidates want a spot on a public ballot, they should follow rules that empower the entire electorate.
Caucuses threaten the integrity and effectiveness of our democracy. We need a system that invites participation, not one that demands a massive toll in time, money and commitment from only the most extreme elements. It is time for Colorado to give all voters a say in who is on the ballot.
Kent Thiry, of Denver, is the former DaVita CEO, was campaign cochair of the 2016 ballot initiatives (Props 107 and 108) that opened primary elections in Colorado to independent voters and replaced caucuses with a presidential primary. He also was cochair of the successful campaign to outlaw partisan gerrymandering.
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