Colorado has become a hotbed of democracy innovation | Vince Bzdek – Denver Gazette

Colorado has become a hotbed of democracy innovation | Vince Bzdek  Denver Gazette

We’re just two days from the midterms and a very consequential vote for both Colorado and the country. But don’t expect the midterms to fix everything that is roiling Colorado politics and democracy in general. No matter how the vote turns out Tuesday, there are deep structural issues that still need to be addressed, said Landon Mascarenaz, founding CEO of Courageous Colorado, a cross-partisan democracy reform organization. “The midterms are important. People have to vote. They gotta use their voice,” he said. “But we have to have a real conversation about the fact that, in too many places, the primary election result is the general election result. Ninety percent of races in Colorado are over in the primary.” Unaffiliated voters, who make up a majority of early voters so far in the midterms, think the current system isn’t giving them what they want, so they are exiting the two-party system, Mascarenaz added.

“Eighty percent of Coloradans want more choices in politics,” he said. Ninety percent of them believe our democracy is in crisis nationally and think that politics are a major part of the problem. “Coloradans are crying out for change.” Mascarenaz was one of the presenters last week at Colorado State University’s fifth annual Democracy Summit, which brings together students, faculty, community members and civic leaders to explore democracy’s