Mandated primaries, conventions sought

Friday, February 21, 2003

A Republican-sponsored bill that Democratic lawmakers claim is a direct assault on third-party candidates passed in the House on a voice vote Thursday.

Colorado's election law was changed several years ago to make it easier for "minor parties" to get on the ballot by avoiding primaries and instead having the party's leadership choose the candidate they want to appear on the ballot.

Those changes were necessary because small parties don't have the resources to hold primaries, Democrats said.

Rep. Bill Crane's House Bill 1194 would put minor parties on the same footing as their larger Democratic and Republican counterparts, requiring them to hold conventions, and hold primaries if more than one candidate qualifies.

Crane said the issue is simple: all parties, large and small, should play by the same rules. Minor parties currently enjoy an unfair amount of leeway in the way they conduct their business, he said.
But several Democrats attacked the measure.

Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, called it "the epitome of the arrogance of power."

Republican Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, disagreed. The measure, he said, isn't meant to keep third parties down. "This has nothing to do with who wins the election," he said. "It has to do with the integrity of who gets on the ballot."