BACKGROUND
House Bill 08-1378 authorized the use of ranked voting, including Instant-Runoff Voting (IRV), in Colorado. House Bill 21-1071 required the secretary of state to set up procedures for county clerks to conduct IRV elections for municipalities. In 2023-24 about 70 different citizen-initiated ballot measures modeled on Final-Four Voting, which was first used in Alaska in 2022, were considered. Of the initiatives that passed the various procedural hurdles, proponents settled on the one that is now Prop 131. Kent Thiry is leading the effort to pass Prop 131. He has successfully backed and funded other election reform measures, including opening the major-party primary elections to unaffiliated voters (Props 107 and 108) and establishing independent redistricting commissions (Amendments Y and Z).
The effective date of Proposition 131 is January 1, 2026. However, the effective date of Section 54 of Senate Bill 24-210 is March 1, 2026, which is before any 2026 primary or general elections would occur under Prop 131. SB24-210 requires that a diverse group of 12 different municipalities conduct an IRV election and a post-election risk-limiting audit before IRV can be used in any elections for state or federal offices. When Governor Polis signed SB24-210, he vowed to respect the will of the voters if Prop 131 passes and to work with the legislature to implement Prop 131 no later than 2028.
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