COLORADO — Colorado Voters are set to vote on one of the initiatives that would change how people vote in the next election.
It's called Proposition 131, which includes the Open Primary and Ranked-Choice voting initiative.
In Colorado right now, a Semi-Open Primary is available for voters.
If you are unaffiliated, you can vote either in the Republican or Democratic Primary.
Under the Open Primary, all candidates will be on one ballot.
It doesn't matter if the candidate has a party affiliation and every person votes on that one ballot.
Then, top four candidates from the Primary will move onto the Ranked-Choice Voting system in General Election.
Voters will rank candidates from one to four. If the candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote in the first round, that candidate wins.
If not, the second round continues.
The candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated.
This cycle continues until one candidate has the majority.
However, community members say they have mixed responses.
"There's such great polarization between two parties," said Colorado Springs City Councilmember Nancy Henjum.
Henjum says she believes Proposition 131 would help alleviate the situation. She supports the proposal, especially for unaffiliated groups.
"With 51 percent of population being unaffiliated, I think it's important to start spreading the wealth to who can be on the ballot and diminish polarization," Henjum said.
A retired political science professor, Bob Loevy, thinks Ranked-Choice Voting system is too complicated.
"The voters are going to have to know four people well enough to rank them," Loevy said. "I sincerely question whether voters will take the time or the interest to go through the process."
Loevy says it could cause lower voter turnout.
"I think you will have a big increase in non voting. It's going to favor well educated... people who are well to do," Loevy said.
Other states like Nevada and Arizona are voting on similar measures this year.
_____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
