In what most pundits agree is the most surprising, confusing, convoluted and unpredictable election season in recent memory across the board, one thing is perfectly clear: It’s time for change.
After Colorado Democrats and Republicans experienced the state’s discount food-processor version of a presidential caucus in March, it looked like change was at hand.
And the uproarious Republican primary race for U.S. Senate candidates is so chaotic, it’s hard even for pundits and the candidates themselves to keep up.
As for presidential politics, March Democratic caucuses were overwhelmed with voters who’d never been through the process, and there were so many, they overwhelmed the clunky and archaic system of counting noses in a straw poll.
Republicans were even more repulsed by the process because GOP leaders last year removed their straw poll from the caucus process. In essence, Republicans didn’t get to pick a favorite presidential candidate, instead voting for delegates who would choose a candidate later at a statewide convention.
The system more than stretches an everyman’s understanding of civics and just turns voters off. While the notion of a caucus — where the working Joes and Janes talk politics for a night and pick delegates and favorites — is quaint and admirable, it’s unrealistic. In a world where Colorado can barely get people to fill out mail-in election ballots, the caucus system is toast.
So state lawmakers were fast — too fast — to jump into the quagmire, quickly offering to reinstate Colorado’s expensive but inclusive presidential primary. But these are actually political party events, not traditional democratic votes. The parties make the rules. If Colorado returns to a presidential primary, taxpayers pay the estimated $7-million bill — but only registered Democrats and Republicans get to vote.
There are lots of unanswered questions here. Should or can the state parties continue other aspects of caucuses? Can the state preclude having two, expensive primary elections in presidential years by combining presidential and statewide primary questions? Should unaffiliated voters be allowed to participate in primary elections, even under the conceit of “temporarily registering” for a political party and then un-registering after the vote?
As to the GOP race for U.S. Senate nominees, it’s obvious among allegations of petition fraud and petition mismanagement that that primary process also needs help. Since it appears that the petition process is nothing more than an expensive fee some candidates pay to get on the Colorado primary election ballot, lawmakers should scrutinize the process and criteria for how partisans choose nominees.
In both cases, important questions about the state’s partisan system can’t even be asked because the cycle hasn’t even ended. Proposals in the Legislature for a presidential primary in 2020 fell apart at the last minute, but they were premature, given that the 2016 election cycle isn’t even over yet.
Lawmakers should take the time to allow the public to digest this election and then think long about what changes would be best for voter convenience, voter participation and — more important — providing fair elections and fielding the best candidates.
There’s plenty of time, use it.