A Republican candidate running for Congress to replace Ed Perlmutter in the 7th District is arguing that unaffiliated voters have the right to help pick which GOP candidates can run in the party primary.
Brad Dempsey’s petition to participate in the party primary fell short by 251 signers, while 287 signers were eliminated by the Secretary of State’s office because they were not Republican Party voters.
Now Dempsey is suing Secretary of State Jena Griswold, claiming that since unaffiliated voters are permitted to vote in party primaries, they should also be allowed to participate in a political party’s nominating process.
From Colorado Politics:
Citing Proposition 108, a 2016 ballot measure approved in 2016 that permits unaffiliated voters to cast ballots in either the Democratic or Republican primary, Dempsey said in a statement that Colorado voters made it clear that they wanted to enable unaffiliated voters to have a say on which candidates would receive the nomination from the respective major political parties in Colorado.
So now we find ourselves on a very slippery slope of, what next?
Do we open party assemblies to unaffiliated voters to participate in the party process, become a party delegate and act as a party member to choose candidates for the party’s primary?
Because that would technically make them members of the party, and they would no longer be unaffiliated voters.
Or, we could just declare everyone unaffiliated and abolish both parties.
We’re not confident Dempsey’s argument will hold up in court, but we’ll find out Tuesday when Judge J. Eric Elliff hears the case.
Already on the ballot for the June 28 Republican Party primary election are Erik Aadland, Tim Reichert and Laurel Imer.
Carl Anderson’s petition was also rejected after numerous signatures were eliminated, and he’s expected to challenge the Secretary of State’s office in court.