House bill portrayed as ‘leveling political playing field’ does not address minor party needs
DENVER, CO (March 14, 2003) — The Green Party of Colorado expresses firm opposition to HB 1142, which passed the Senate State Affairs Committee earlier this week. The bill would force minor parties to rewrite their bylaws, hold state primaries and meet the same requirements as major parties. A one-size-fits-all approach to nominating candidates is not appropriate for all political parties.
“What works for major parties with hundreds of thousands of members is not appropriate for parties with 5,000 members,” said Brad Klafehn, Colorado Green Party Treasurer. “It’s still not clear what problem this legislation is trying to solve. Minor parties like how they nominate candidates now – at statewide nominating conventions. It is an efficient, democratic, and low-cost process.”
Forcing minor parties into statewide primaries will be yet another unfunded mandate for counties from the state legislature. According to the county clerks, HB 1142 would significantly increase the costs of primary elections. “Given the state’s fiscal crisis, this bill seems particularly ill-timed and inappropriate,” said Green Party Co-Chair Bruce Meyer. “Any unaffiliated voter can change registration at the primary election. Therefore, if a minor party is forced to have a primary, every county will have to accommodate that primary ballot even if there are no registered voters for that minor party in the county.”
The motivation behind this Republican-sponsored bill is unclear and somewhat suspect, as minor party voters have not been clamoring for these changes. The passing vote went along party lines, with Republicans supporting and Democrats opposing. HB 1142 would force minor parties into using statewide primaries if two candidates receive 30% of the votes at the nominating convention. Additionally, under HB 1142, a candidate not authorized by the party could bypass party procedures and petition on to the ballot, thereby also forcing a primary.
If the bill’s sponsors want a truly fair and level playing field for elections, the Green Party of Colorado has specific suggestions for legislative action.
— Require the Secretary of State to list all eligible political parties on the voter registration form. Minor parties’ names have to be written in, like write-in ballots, even though minor parties have been authorized by state law for years.
— Allow minor party candidates a chance to get the top line on ballots. Currently, this is a privilege the major parties reserve for themselves.
— Allow minor parties to sit on — and not just as observers — county canvassing boards. So far, this is another privilege the major parties have reserved for themselves.
— Allow election judges to be minor party voters even when there are sufficient numbers of major party judges. Currently, minor party voters can serve as election judges only when there are too few major party judges.
