{"id":15087,"date":"2025-12-16T01:20:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T08:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorados-unaffiliated-voters-say-theyre-intentionally-not-joining-a-political-party-heres-why\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:45:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:45:19","slug":"colorados-unaffiliated-voters-say-theyre-intentionally-not-joining-a-political-party-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorados-unaffiliated-voters-say-theyre-intentionally-not-joining-a-political-party-heres-why\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado\u2019s unaffiliated voters say they\u2019re intentionally not joining a political party. Here\u2019s why"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Cecilia
Cecilia Compton drops off her ballot to vote in the 2024 presidential primary election on Tuesday at the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder\u2019s Office. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The vast majority of unaffiliated voters in Colorado say they intentionally registered that way, according to findings from a new poll, eroding the assumption that the growing share of unaffiliated voters in the state in recent years has been caused by automatic voter registration.<\/p>\n

Under a 2019 law, people are automatically registered to vote when they have an interaction with the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles. They\u2019re registered as unaffiliated unless and until they affiliate with a party.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of Coloradans have been registered to vote through automatic voter registration, and during that time the share of unaffiliated voters in the state has steadily increased. As of Dec. 1, unaffiliated voters made up half of active, registered voters statewide. Unaffiliated voters also made up the largest share of the electorate in each of the state\u2019s eight congressional districts.<\/p>\n

But a poll of 1,210 active, registered Colorado voters last month found that 86% of those who said they were unaffiliated voters said they intentionally chose to register that way, while 5% said they were automatically registered as unaffiliated and 9% said they weren\u2019t sure or didn\u2019t know if being unaffiliated was intentional or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true both of younger independents and older independents,\u201d said Spencer Keating of Keating Research, the Democratic pollster in Colorado that conducted the survey. \u201cThey believe they\u2019re deliberately registering this way, not just passively ending up as independents.\u201d<\/p>\n

The poll was conducted from Nov. 10-17 on behalf of Let Colorado Vote, a nonprofit founded in 2016 by Kent Thiry, the wealthy former CEO of the Denver-based dialysis giant DaVita. Thiry is one year removed from his failed effort to overhaul Colorado\u2019s election system through Proposition 131, which would have changed the state\u2019s primaries so that candidates from all parties ran against each other with the top four vote-getters advancing to a ranked choice voting general election.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cI
\u201cI prefer things that have systemic impact,\u201d says Kent Thiry. Measures that he has bankrolled have eliminated the caucus system for presidential primaries, brought unaffiliated voters into the primaries and created a new system intended to eliminate gerrymandering. \u201cDemocracy is not a spectator sport.\u201d (Rachel Woolf for KHN)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Let Colorado Vote\u2019s original purpose was to pass ballot measures creating presidential primaries in Colorado, abandoning the caucus system, and letting unaffiliated voters cast ballots in primaries. The group also helped change the redistricting process in Colorado, which it did through Amendments Y and Z in 2018.<\/p>\n

Now, Let Colorado Vote works on voter engagement and participation, with an emphasis on getting more unaffiliated voters involved in politics and tamping down political extremes.<\/p>\n

The poll had a 2.8 percentage point margin of error, with a 4 percentage point margin of error among unaffiliated participants and a 3.2 percentage point margin of error among participants who said they were likely to vote in 2026.<\/p>\n

About half of the participating voters who said they were unaffiliated reported being affiliated with a party before \u2013 25% as Democrats, 21% as Republicans and 4% with another party.<\/p>\n

Those who became unaffiliated said the main reason they did so was because of policy disagreements, dissatisfaction with their party\u2019s direction or their values no longer aligning with that party\u2019s platform \u2013 in that order.<\/p>\n

Unaffiliated voters who reported never being affiliated said they did so primarily because of dislike or distrust of the major parties or because they wanted to vote based on candidates or issues or have a desire for independence.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr they dislike the two-party system and the polarization that comes with it,\u201d Keating said.<\/p>\n

But while voters say they\u2019re intentionally registering as unaffiliated, the poll also showed they have a clear preference for Democrats \u2013 which matches election results in Colorado over the past decade.<\/p>\n

\"Voters
Voters cast their ballots on Nov. 8, 2022, at the La Plata County Clerk\u2019s Office in Bodo Industrial Park in Durango. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Forty-four percent of unaffiliated voters said they would vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress if an election were held today, compared with 38% who said they would vote for the Republican candidate. Seven percent said they would vote for another candidate, while 11% said they didn\u2019t know whom they would vote for or were undecided.<\/p>\n

Additionally, 35% of unaffiliated voters said they typically vote for Democratic candidates in Colorado elections, while 26% said they typically vote for Republican candidates. Thirty-five percent said they sometimes voted for Democrats and sometimes voted for Republicans, while 4% said they didn\u2019t know or weren\u2019t sure how they typically voted.<\/p>\n

Unaffiliated voters also overwhelmingly reported having an unfavorable opinion of President Donald Trump \u2013 62% unfavorable to 37% favorable. That\u2019s compared with Trump\u2019s favorability among all Colorado registered voters, which the poll found to be 60% unfavorable and 40% favorable.<\/p>\n

Unaffiliated voters said they trusted Democrats most on issues like the environment, health care, democracy, education and the cost of living, while they trusted Republicans most on immigration and crime.<\/p>\n

The poll found that unaffiliated voters\u2019 biggest issues are housing affordability and the cost of living, followed by taxes and government spending. Political leadership and polarization ranked third.<\/p>\n

The poll results also emphasized how unaffiliated voters in different parts of Colorado tend to vote for the major party that has the greatest numbers in their area.<\/p>\n

In Denver and Boulder, 38% of unaffiliated voters said they typically vote in the Democratic primary, compared with 21% who said they typically vote in the Republican primary. In El Paso, Larimer, Pueblo and Larimer counties, 28% of unaffiliated voters said they typically vote in the Democratic primary compared with 33% who said they typically vote in the Republican primary.<\/p>\n

The poll also provided more evidence that any effort to unwind or change Colorado\u2019s Taxpayer\u2019s Bill of Rights will face an uphill battle.<\/p>\n

Voters were read two statements about TABOR and asked which came closer to their view.<\/p>\n

Sixty-one percent of those polled said they agree that \u201cColorado should keep its TABOR law because it\u2019s an essential protection that keeps government spending in check and gives voters the final say on any tax increases.\u201d Twenty-six percent said they agreed that \u201cColorado should remove its TABOR law because it prevents the state from adequately funding schools, roads and health care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unaffiliated and Republican voters who participated in the poll overwhelmingly expressed support for TABOR, while Democrats were split. Forty-one percent of Democrats agreed with the pro-TABOR message, while 44% said they opposed the 1992 constitutional amendment and 13% said they didn\u2019t know or weren\u2019t sure about it.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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