This story was first published at Colorado Newsline.
DENVER | A federal judge this week shut down an effort by the Colorado Republican Party to block unaffiliated voters from participating in the party’s June primary election.
The decision is the latest action in a years-long legal battle in which the Republican Party challenged state laws enacted as a result of Proposition 108, a 2016 ballot measure that allows voters not registered with a political party to vote in partisan primary elections.
In March, U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge Philip Brimmer ruled that the requirement for a party to opt out of primary elections — a 75% vote of the party’s central committee — is unconstitutionally high.
The deadline for the party to opt out of the 2026 primary election was Oct. 1, 2025. Attorneys for the Republican Party said because Brimmer’s ruling came after the deadline, the court should block unaffiliated voters from participating in the primary.
Neither the Colorado Legislature nor the Colorado secretary of state’s office have established a new mechanism for parties to opt out of the primaries since that ruling, Brimmer said in his decision denying the GOP’s emergency motion for a temporary restraining order.
Granting the motion would go beyond the scope of his March order, Brimmer said, and would violate the Purcell principle, which says courts should not change election rules too close to an election to avoid confusion for voters and election officials.
Hilary Rudy, the state’s deputy elections director, told the court it would take seven months to reprogram the state’s election system to ensure that unaffiliated voters do not receive Republican primary ballots.
The secretary of state’s office must certify the contents of ballot materials for the June primary by May 1. Voters can begin picking up ballots from their county clerk on May 16.
Ordering a change to the way the state operates elections so close to the date the secretary of state’s office must certify ballots would go against the Purcell principle, Brimmer ruled. The state and counties would not have enough time to educate voters on such a large change ahead of the June election, which would lead to voter confusion, Brimmer said.
In a statement, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said the court “rightly decided” that unaffiliated voters can participate in the Republican or Democratic primary elections, ensuring the June primary will align with Colorado law. She said the June primary ballot content will be certified later this week.
Newsline reached out to attorneys for the Republican Party seeking comment on the ruling.
The National Republican Congressional Committee and Colorado’s four Republican members of Congress — U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert of Windsor, Jeff Hurd of Grand Junction, Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs and Gabe Evans of Fort Lupton — filed a motion to intervene in the case to oppose the state party’s ask to exclude unaffiliated voters. Brimmer denied their motion since he denied the party’s request.
More than half of the Colorado electorate is unaffiliated.
A federal judge in 2022 dismissed a different lawsuit Republicans filed to block unaffiliated voters from participating in their primary elections.
The primary election is June 30. Ballots will be automatically mailed to all active registered voters starting June 8.
This story was made available via the Colorado News Collaborative. Learn more at https://www.google.com/url?q=https://colabnews.co&source=gmail-imap&ust=1778095462000000&usg=AOvVaw1CJUrni4Ddtmu9pUIaj0GZ