2024 Colorado Proposition 131


2024 Colorado Proposition 131 was a proposed ballot measure that appeared before voters in Colorado during the 2024 general election. The citizen initiated proposition would have replaced Colorado's partisan primaries with non-partisan blanket primaries and would have implemented ranked-choice (instant-runoff) voting for most statewide and state legislative general elections in which the top four candidates in the primary would have qualified for the general election ballot.

Background

Currently, Colorado uses partisan primaries to select who appears on general election ballots and a first past the post voting system like most US states. Had Proposition 131 passed, Colorado would have switched to a system of blanket primaries and ranked choice general elections. Similar systems were adopted by Maine in 2016 and Alaska in 2020. The proposition was initiated by citizen petition, largely funded by health care executive Kent Thiry. Similar proposals were on the ballot in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon, funded by a network of donors of which Thiry is a part.
In 2024, Governor Jared Polis signed into law Senate Bill 210 which heightened requirements for the adoption of ranked choice voting in Colorado. Specifically, the law requires that at least 12 communities of various required sizes adopt ranked choice voting at a local level before it can be implemented statewide. This made it unclear how quickly ranked choice voting would have been implemented in Colorado had Proposition 131 passed. However, Polis had committed to ensuring ranked choice voting was put into effect by the 2028 election if voters approved the proposition. In addition, Polis endorsed the measure.

Contents

The proposition appeared on the ballot as follows:

Campaigns

Support

The campaign in support of Proposition 131 was led by Colorado Voters First. Additionally, Colorado's official voter guide offered the arguments in support of Proposition 131 that a blanket primary system would create an equal opportunity for everyone to participate in primary elections, increase voter turnout in primaries, and make general elections more competitive. It also offered that ranking candidates in order of preference in general elections gives voters more choices, minimizes the spoiler effect, and results in outcomes that better reflect the will of the voters.

Opposition

There were two main groups leading opposition against Proposition 131: Voters Rights Colorado and First Choice Counts. Colorado's official voter guide also offered the arguments against Proposition 131 that the measure will make elections more expensive, confuse voters, and weaken faith in the outcomes of Colorado elections. Additionally, it offered that political parties should have separate primaries, with unaffiliated voters already being able to participate in Colorado's primary system, and a blanket primary system would result in more expensive primary campaigns.

Results

Proposition 131 required a simple majority to pass. It failed, only receiving 46% of the vote.