Take the Survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GV879ZP Quotes from the Survey, including Q & A, are at the end of this article.
If you are a Colorado Republican Committee (CRC) voting member, you will know it because you had to run for that position and win an election – either within the Republican Party or as a Republican elected official in the Colorado state or the federal government. If you are not a voting member, those who are voting members should be representing you and their other constituents to the State Republican Party. Feel free to take the survey and leave your comments.
(The Colorado Democrat Party also has this state-mandated system, including the opportunity to Opt-Out of having Unaffiliated voters participate in their Primary Elections.)
Take the Survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GV879ZP
LESS THAN 520 PEOPLE – THE COLORADO REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE – WILL VOTE IN SEPTEMBER WHETHER TO RETURN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO ITS RIGHTFUL MEMBERS (REGISTERED REPUBLICANS) OR KEEP IT OPEN TO PRIMARY VOTERS WHO HAVE CHOSEN NOT TO BE AFFILIATED WITH A POLITICAL PARTY.
WHO WILL VOTE TO OPT-OUT OF THE UNCONSTITUTIONAL OPEN PRIMARY? WHO WANTS TO KEEP IT OPEN?
Take the Survey! - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GV879ZP
CLICK HERE for a .pdf of the entire list of CRC Voters. All CRC Voters’ POSITIONS are listed, but not their names or contact information, as Republican State Chairman Kristi Burton Brown instructed our team to discontinue providing that information. She said we could provide their names, but to avoid confusion when viewing this list, only the people who have completed the Survey and given permission for their names to be listed will appear on this list.
Contact info for (some) State and County voting members is at www.cologop.org.
Republican State Legislators are also State Central Committee voting members. To find your state legislators, visit https://leg.colorado.gov/find-my-legislator.
An unconscionably high 75% of the entire voting body must vote YES to Opt-Out. Talk to your Party Representatives and ask them to vote YES! We Can Do It!
Why we think the Republican Party should Opt-Out:
- It is unconstitutional for government to force a private Party to allow non-members to vote in their selection of candidates for the general election – even under the guise of a ballot initiative.
- Since including non-Republicans in Republican Party primary elections, Republican registration is down, and the number of government seats held by Republicans is down.
- Republicans should be able to select candidates who believe in and adhere to the Republican Platform and its principles, rather than those who skew left to appeal to the influential primary voters from outside the Party.
- Colorado’s government has become oppressive, the cost of living has gone up, and the quality of life has gone down since the Republican's general election candidates have been elected in primaries with the influence of people who have chosen not to affiliate with either Party.
- The integrity of Colorado’s state-run elections is questionable. Why, given the chance to Opt-Out of the state-run primary election, would any Republican rather subject their most important Party business, the selection of general election candidates, to elections run and counted under a Democrat Secretary of State?
Take the Survey! - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GV879ZP
We want to hear from you, even if you are not a Central Committee voting member!
– QUOTES FROM THE SURVEY –
(Quotes will be added to this section as more people fill in the survey.)
There has been a lot of knee-jerk and emotional reactions and incorrect information going around about this issue. I'm all about logic and facts. This is the most important thing to know: if we "opt out of" (cancel) the Republican primary in Colorado, there will still be a Democratic primary. The Dems hope we do this. It's a no-brainer win for them. Unaffiliated voters will receive only one ballot: the Democratic ballot. They will learn the names of the Democratic candidates but not the Republican candidates, and 100% of unaffiliated voters who participate in the primary will vote for Democrats, forming a bond of loyalty and name recognition that is likely to remain through the general election. There are not enough Republicans to win elections by themselves, we need unaffiliated voters to vote with us to win. In my opinion, as long as we have a primary in Colorado, which is WHERE WE ARE NOW, we should not take away the R side of it. Voting to "opt ourselves out" will not cancel the open primary, that is a different vote on a different day. Of course we want to get rid of open primaries. BUT, right now, we only have TWO options: to have a say in a primary that WILL happen, or not. For those who say "but the caucus is where we have a vote": I ran my district's caucuses for 10 years. Other than one year where Rick Santorum won a non-binding straw poll in Colorado, caucuses are generally NOT well-attended, and only so many slots are open at those for delegates to go on to higher assemblies (and actually have a vote in nominations at the county and state level). Everyday Republicans are going to be mad as hell when they find out they are not going to get a ballot. I can't think of a more idiotic thing to do as a party. Let's disenfranchise the bulk of our voters and hope this somehow grows the party. And nobody can accuse me of not being conservative, I'm as conservative as they come. Thank you for reading.
The status quo is not only not working but is a death wish for the CO Republican Party. I was unaffiliated because the Republican Party had become tepid. Without making the hard decisions in order to make our Party a vibrant alternative, we're worthless as an opposition Party to the Democrat insanity.
I hope we can garner 75%. We need to take this to court as some of us recommended many years ago.
I understand that we are voting to end the open primary and revert to our original closed Republican primary format. Having our enemies choose our candidates has been a disaster. I am sooo ready for the change!! A million Thanks to the grass roots Team making this happen!! (YOU ARE VERY WELCOME!)
Great job! Thanks for fighting for US (YOU'RE WELCOME!)
Unaffiliated (non-Republican) voters must not be allowed to choose Republican Candidates in Republican Party primary elections. (WE AGREE!)
I can not make the meeting as I will be out of town I would like to submit a proxy vote. (PROXY FORM - CLICK HERE)
I hope we can garner 75%. We need to take this to court as some of us recommended many years ago. (WE AGREE! SEE https://mycoloradogop.org/160-co-open-primary-unconstitutional)
This is a bad idea. Vote no to abolishing the primary!
From a voting member -
#1. I won’t be able to make the meeting on the 18th so I’m assuming I can send a proxy? (YES, CLICK HERE FOR PROXY FORM)
#2. I love that no “dishonest democrat” will have an influence on our election but how can we ensure no dishonest republicans within our state party can do the same. (WE CANNOT, BUT THEY ARE SEPARATING THEMSELVES OUT BY ADVOCATING FOR STAYING IN AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM)
#3. The most important thing to sell this, is what happens after? It sounds like we can make up our own rules. I would love, as would other SCC voting members I’m sure, an outline of the process and how we would potentially move forward after we opt out. We need a clear path forward. (SEE THIS ARTICLE)
#4. What happens in our more local elections? (county, district, congressional). (SEE THIS ARTICLE)
#5. I don’t like the idea of the old establishment republicans in this state selecting an old establishment republican candidate at the assembly (Walker Stapleton). Are the majority of voting members at a state assembly establishment? (ALL 2022 VOTING MEMBERS WILL BE ELECTED BEGINNING AT CAUCUS) Again, I love this idea but I do think most voting members are going to need to know more. We need a road map of what we can do and how we are going to do it when passed. Where are our current elected officials on this? I have reached out to a couple with no response. Time is of the essence here so the more clear, informative information and path forward we hear the better. (WE AGREE, PLEASE READ SOME OF THE ARTICLES AT WWW.MYCOLORADOGOP.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION.)
File suit and get the issue over turned in court…..don’t disenfranchise a million Republican voters by your current opt out option. You will destroy our party in Colorado if the opt out vote is successful. You and the party insiders will be to blame.
On radio, George B is not in favor and it sounds like his issue is what is the real process for the primary election if we do opt out.
Please read George brauchler 's editorial in the sunday Denver post.
