OCT 24, 2024 | NEWS | By Lorelei Smillie
What do the heir to the Walton family fortune, Rupert Murdoch’s daughter-in-law and the co-founder of Netflix have in common?
They’re all funding a political reform that will transform voting in Colorado.
On the ballot this fall is one of Colorado’s most controversial and expensive initiatives: Proposition 131, which would establish open primaries and ranked choice voting (RCV) statewide.
Ranked choice voting refers to a process by which candidates are ranked in order of preference on the ballot. If one candidate receives an outright majority of the votes, they win. If no one does, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and votes are redistributed until someone receives over 50%. Advocates say RCV weakens the power of traditional parties and reduces political polarization, giving candidates with wide support an edge.
An open primary means that all candidates, regardless of political affiliation, would be listed on the same primary ballot. This could lead to various outcomes, including a slate of candidates from the same political party or a list of people who are virtually unknown to most voters.
Out of the 14 statewide ballot measures this fall, Proposition 131 has received the most financial support. According to Ballotpedia, proponents of the bill have contributed approximately $9,285,979 to try and get it passed, while those opposing it have raised $125,750.24.
Supporters include Walmart heir Ben Walton, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, and Kathryn Murdoch, wife to Rupert Murdoch’s son, James Murdoch. Walton and Hastings each contributed one million, and Murdoch gave five hundred thousand to help the measure pass, as reported by Colorado Public Radio.
Ballotpedia cites that the largest financial backer is the political action committee (PAC) Colorado Voters First. Most of their funding comes from Unite America, “a philanthropic venture fund that invests in nonpartisan election reform to foster a more representative and functional government.” Unite America has contributed 4.86 million dollars in support of the proposition.
Kent Thiry co-chairs Unite America: one of the leading forces for change in Colorado politics. Thiry is the former CEO of DaVita, a healthcare company and one of the largest providers of kidney care services in the United States. Ballotpedia lists his contributions to the proposition as totaling $1.4 million.
Thiry’s foray into politics has involved several different ballot measures and millions of dollars. Over the past ten years, he has supported various political initiatives to make Colorado less partisan.
In 2016, Thiry supported a proposition which allowed unaffiliated voters to participate in primaries of major political parties without identifying with that party. In 2018, he funded the passing of an amendment, which created an independent redistricting commission to eliminate partisan gerrymandering. In 2021, Thiry became a co-chair for Unite America.
“Unite America supports Proposition 131 because it will solve Colorado’s primary problem and give more voters a say in our elections. In 2022, just 13% of Coloradans cast ‘meaningful votes’ — votes cast in competitive elections that were not already pre-determined by party. It’s no wonder that Colorado’s legislature is considered one of the most polarized in the nation,” Ross Sherman, press director for Unite America, said in an interview.
Proposition 131 would establish top-four primary elections (primaries which result in four choices on the ballot) and ranked-choice voting for congressional, senatorial, and state office races. It would not affect presidential or local races.
According to Ballotpedia, the first instance of ranked-choice voting in the United States appeared in 1915 in Ohio. This November, legislative measures implementing or reducing RCV will appear on the ballot in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, and Oregon.
Colorado has voted the same way for over 100 years. When asked why these changes are needed now, Curtis Hubbard, a spokesperson for Kent Thiry, emphasized that RCV “improves outcomes for candidates from disadvantaged communities, women and candidates of color.”
That same argument is also used to argue against the proposition. Chuck Broerman, the El Paso County Treasurer, stated that the proposition “impacts low-income, elderly, minority and other historically underrepresented neighborhoods more than wealthy white neighborhoods and that fact raises fairness questions.”
Backers of the proposition argue that it provides voters with a broader, more equitable range of choices.
“[The open primary] creates a level playing field for every candidate regardless of political affiliation and… it increases the opportunities for third party or independent candidates… with ranked choice voting, voters are able to pick and rank their candidates and no longer have to worry about a wasted vote,” Hubbard said.
“I think instant runoff voting is better than our current system because it gives voters more choices. I’m hopeful that if it passes, it will encourage participation and improve our democracy,” Governor Jared Polis wrote in a Facebook post.
Opposition arguments to the initiative cite that candidates with more money will have more power in the open primaries.
“Just like the origin of this proposal, it’s backed by big money. So in the open primary… those who are interested in protecting their corporate interests… are going to fund the candidates that best align with them,” said Patrick Dillon, co-chair of the Green Party of Colorado.
When asked to respond to this quote, Hubbard said, “to argue that money in politics doesn’t exist now is a bit naive.”
In an interview with the Colorado Sun, Dave Williams, chair of the Colorado Republican party, stated: “Self-serving rich liberals shouldn’t be able to buy their way onto a ballot and manipulate democracy with deceptive marketing. Thiry wants to be governor and validate his ego by spending his massive wealth to change the rules of the game so he can have a better chance at winning.”
Thiry has not yet attempted to run for public office, but speculation abounds each time he launches a new campaign for political change in Colorado.
RCV for Colorado, an independent grassroots organization promoting ranked-choice voting, is “neutral” on Prop 131.
Linda Templin, their executive director, explained that “the evidence for all-candidate primaries is weak… Our organization only supports evidence-based policies… The idea that there cannot be more than four candidates on an RCV ballot has no basis in fact.”
Unite America’s website has a whole page dedicated to its most successful test case: Alaska. In 2020, Alaskan voters passed Ballot Measure No. 2, which established open primaries and ranked-choice voting.
According to Ballotpedia, the ballot measure passed by a slim margin of 50.55% of votes.
However, the upcoming election in Alaska will feature a bill to repeal Ballot Measure 2 and eliminate both ranked choice voting and open primaries. Opposition to the bill is funded by Alaskans for Better Elections Inc.
Katie McKenna, a Juneau resident, said she was “not surprised [at the ballot measure to repeal] because our new House representative Mary Peltola was elected by ranked choice voting and she ran as a Democrat… She also replaced Don Young who was the longest running Republican in the House. I’m not surprised that ranked choice voting is now [on the ballot] because people feel disenfranchised by Peltola’s actions in Congress.”
“Let’s be clear: partisan politicians and sore losers are leading the repeal of open primaries in Alaska. And not because the system didn’t work in 2022. It worked exceptionally well –– giving Alaskans the most powerful and meaningful votes in the nation. If Alaska does indeed go back to closed party primaries that deny most Alaskans a true voice in elections, they’ll have those party insiders to blame,” Sherman said about changes in Alaska.
For the ballot measure to pass, Unite America gave almost three million dollars to Alaskans for Better Elections Inc., a committee dedicated to establishing ranked choice voting, more transparency in campaign donations, and open primaries.
When asked about the money behind the ballot measure, McKenna responded, “I actually did not know that [the ballot measure] was funded by these millionaires at all… I did not know that there was a connection between Alaska and Colorado in that way… and I definitely did not hear that talked about [in Juneau].
Hubbard said that if Proposition 131 passes, “It’s going to be important to work on voter education to communicate to Colorado voters and help them understand how ranked choice voting works with our election, to design ballots that are not confusing and streamlined, and similar across jurisdictions.”
Polling from Keating Research shows that as of Sept. 1, 56% of voters support the measure, 21% oppose it, and 23% are undecided.
Colorado voters will decide the fate of the proposition on Nov. 5.