In a blatant display of reckless disregard for democracy, the Colorado State Republican Party, under the leadership of Chairman Dave Williams, is once again attempting to bar conservatives from participating in the electoral process. Their latest ploy involves proposing a jumbled set of rule changes that could potentially test the limits of state law.

On September 30th, the Colorado Republican Party's central committee members will convene to deliberate on whether to opt out of the 2024 primaries and instead select the party's general election candidates through an internal process. This move directly contradicts the ballot measure passed by voters in 2016, which allowed unaffiliated voters, who make up Colorado’s largest voting block, from participating in partisan primaries.

To opt out of the primaries, the central committee requires two-thirds support from the "total membership" of the Democratic or GOP central committee. However, the proposed rule changes seek to redefine the term "total membership" in the Colorado GOP's bylaws.

Under these changes, only those central committee members who attend the September 30th gathering would be considered as the "total membership," effectively discounting those who are unable to attend. This not only places an undue burden on committee members, especially those who live far away, but also undermines the democratic process by limiting representation.

Furthermore, the proposed rules would consider non-votes or abstentions at the gathering as votes in favor of the majority, virtually forcing attendees to stay for the entire meeting to ensure their voice is heard. Moreover, the rules would restrict central committee members to casting just two proxy votes, potentially reducing the number of members who can participate in the meeting through proxy voting.

These manipulative tactics clearly aim to skew the outcome in favor of those trying to restrict the electoral process.

To adopt these proposed rules, only a simple majority at the beginning of the meeting is required, a threshold that is likely to be surpassed given the extreme fraction's dominance within the party. This blatant abuse of power further demonstrates their willingness to disregard the will of the people in pursuit of their own agenda.

If successful, the GOP's decision to opt out of the primaries would deny hundreds of thousands of party members the opportunity to have a say in the selection of general election nominees. By reverting to a version of the caucus and assembly process, Republican candidates would be chosen by a select few, thereby excluding a significant portion of the party's base. This narrow selection process is likely to yield more partisan candidates and stifle diversity of representation within the party.

Moreover, opting out would prevent candidates from gathering signatures to get on the ballot, limiting the options available to those who wish to participate in the democratic process.

With an increasing number of voters registering as unaffiliated, both Democrats and Republicans are already losing members. However, the Colorado State Republican Party, under the leadership of Chairman Dave Williams, seems determined to push away even more constituents by intentionally suppressing the voices and choices of conservative voters.