March 28, 2019

It makes no sense to be a Republican in Colorado. Or a Democrat for that matter.

On the day I turned 18, even before I bought my first legal 3.2 beer (remember 3.2 beer?), I went to the courthouse and registered to vote (remember registering to vote?). I joined the Republican Party.

Even at 18, I knew not affiliating with a party diluted the power of my vote.

Sure, everyone gets to vote in November. But one vote among millions isn’t nearly as powerful as a vote in a primary.

Back then, unaffiliated voters were locked out of primaries. Republicans voted in Republican primaries, Democrats in Democratic primaries.

The smaller the electorate, the more your vote mattered.

As a Republican primary voter, my ballot was one of only a couple hundred thousand. As a delegate to the Republican state assembly, my vote was one of only a few thousand. At the county assembly it was one of hundreds. At my neighborhood caucus, I was one of fewer than 10.

At one point, my vote represented more than 10% of all votes cast. That’s leverage.

Rise of the unaffiliateds

Then came Proposition 108 in 2016, which I voted against.

Now those smug, sanctimonious “independents” get both a Republican and Democratic primary ballot and can choose which one to return.

Yet my desire to leverage my vote never changed. So I became unaffiliated.

And like most Colorado voters, I never looked back.

We unaffiliateds get to vote in either primary. This year I’ve decided to return a Democratic ballot.

To my fellow independents, isn’t it nice having choices? Those poor schmucks still clinging to the romance of party affiliation, shackled to organizations that long ago wandered past the hey-guys-let’s-not-get-crazy zone, don’t have the freedom we do.

The still-affiliated can enjoy the purity of party membership while checking voicemail on their flip-phone, insulting Democrats by fax and waiting for next week’s TV Guide to arrive.

To those still registered with a party, investing in Beanie Babies while wondering where the local Radio Shack moved, let me explain why I left.

First, I live in the People’s Republic of Boulder.

If I were still a Republican, I’d have almost no choices in the primary election. Only three of the 15 races on my Republican ballot are contested. Eight races have no candidate at all.

No Republicans in Boulder has finally trickled down to no Republicans running for office.

And unless you’re in complete denial, which has become a permanent condition among many Colorado Republicans, you know absolutely none of the Republican candidates on my Boulder ballot are going to win in November.

That includes, sadly, Barbara Kirkmeyer, the only sane Republican running for governor.

Now, if you live in a conservative part of the state where there are meaningful local races and candidates who can actually win, maybe returning a Republican ballot makes sense.

But here’s the point: you don’t have to be a Republican to do that anymore.

The only temptation I have to return a Republican ballot is to help Kirkmeyer win the nomination.

Yes, she’ll lose to the Democratic nominee in November. Those in denial don’t need to flood my inbox explaining how me saying so will somehow cause that loss — message already received.

But Barbara won’t embarrass the party. She won’t frighten suburban voters. And marginally speaking, she’d help Gabe Evans and a handful of legislative candidates who actually have a shot.

Primaries decide elections

I’ve weighed that consideration against another reality.

The winners of the Democratic primaries for governor and attorney general will almost certainly be the winners in November.

The primary is the election.

Democrats should probably leave their party, too. Why voluntarily surrender half your primary choices?

Why chain yourself to a party label when Colorado law now lets you shop both aisles?

The only remaining reason to stay registered with a party is if you actively participate in caucuses and assemblies and want to help place candidates on the primary ballot without petitioning on.

If you’re registered with a party but never attend caucuses, you’re simply limiting your options under the current rules.

Me, I’m returning a Democratic ballot. Not because I’m a Democrat. But because that’s where my vote has the most influence.

And the prospect of a Colorado run by Democratic Socialists Phil Weiser and Jena Griswold is terrifying enough to make me spend it there.

Jon Caldara is president of Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver.