Shawn Griffiths
DENVER, Colo. – A cross-partisan group called Courageous Colorado released a new ad that takes aim at how the state conducts primary elections. Specifically, it calls out the system for only giving voters two options and forcing them to pick a side.
It is part of the group’s effort to pursue a nonpartisan all-voter and all-candidate open primary in Colorado, similar to the election models in place in Alaska, California, and Washington: Every voter, every candidate, one ballot—voters can choose whomever they want, regardless of party.
The goal is to put an initiative on the ballot in 2028.
Courageous Colorado launched in Summer 2025 after it conducted a 20-site listening tour across the state in collaboration with CiviCO, Veterans for All Voters, The League of Women Voters, and other organizations.
It was an opportunity to listen to the challenges different communities face when engaging with politics. It also offered insight into the disconnect between voters and the people elected to represent them, as well as the need for greater authenticity in political leadership.
The group plans to continue its work with community outreach and bring together leaders from across sectors to engage with each other. But one of its initiatives to facilitate a political environment that encourages courageous leadership is nonpartisan open primaries.
The primary system Colorado uses now could be best described as a semi-open partisan primary. Registered party members vote in their respective party’s primary. Independent voters can choose a Republican or Democratic ballot, but are stuck with the candidates of that party.
This is the system voters approved back in 2016 under Proposition 108.
However, a court ruled in April that the measure placed too high a burden on parties to be able to decide whether independent voters can participate in their taxpayer-funded primaries—meaning it is possible to lock independents out.
The court did not dictate any specific standards, but that does change things.
The decision is considered a win for the Colorado GOP, which has tried to block independent voters from participating on the party’s ballot multiple times. Yet even with a more favorable ruling, the courts have yet to allow it.
Dr. Landon Mascareñaz, the head of Courageous Colorado, called his group’s new ad a humorous and lighthearted way to poke fun at the current system.
In the ad, a customer steps up to the counter of an ice cream shop with the intent of ordering her preferred flavor, only to be shushed by the person taking her order and told her only options are “red or blue.”
This analogy is an effective way to get people to understand why primary reformers push for nonpartisan models. It is easily digestible—pun intended—for people who do not wake up thinking about the nuances of reform every day.
“Pick a flavor or don’t get ice cream.” Pick a side or sit out.
Even in states with open partisan primaries, this is the choice voters have at a time when people may desire different types of candidates for different offices and dissatisfaction with the Republican and Democratic Parties has never been higher.
And now, more than 2 million Coloradans—a majority—are registered independent of any political party. They don’t just make up a plurality. Their numbers are larger than both major parties combined.
The current system confines choice to a single party. The Courageous Colorado ad puts the promise of nonpartisan open primaries in simple terms: Voters pick the flavor they prefer. They can mix it up. Even go off menu for a change.
The choice is theirs in a fully open, voter-nominated process.
Polls show this is what 70% of California voters like about the top two system. Even if they want more choice in the general election, which a coalition of reformers is now working toward, they like a system that gives them the freedom to choose any candidate they want in every race.
“Every voter gets the same ballot during the primary season, and they can build the ballot the way they want,” Mascareñaz said.
Or as the ad put it: “A scoop of this. A scoop of that. How about a few of these?”
It has not been announced if Courageous Colorado will pursue a Top Two system like in California or a Top Four or Five system like in Alaska.
A ballot measure for a system modeled after Alaska failed in 2024. It combined a nonpartisan Top Four primary with ranked choice voting in the general election. However, it faced opposition from both major parties and didn't get enough votes.
This new effort is noticeably different on its approach. This time, reform advocates started with community outreach, have two years to build these community networks, and have focused their message on something polls show voter want.
Choice.
Whether it is a more successful approach remains to be seen.