From left, former DaVita CEO Kent Thiry, Unite America executive director Nick Troiano, First Choice Counts founder Jason Lupo and Republican activist Candice Stutzriem participate in a debate on Proposition 131 at the University of Denver on Oct. 24, 2024. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)
Two leaders of a movement seeking to drastically overhaul the way Colorado and other states conduct their elections squared off in a debate Thursday night with two conservative Republicans, representing a political bloc that polls show remain the movement’s harshest critics.
Coloradans will vote in less than two weeks on Proposition 131, which would abolish party primaries and establish a top-four ranked choice voting system for nearly all state and federal elections. It’s backed by Unite America , a Denver-based nonprofit, which pioneered its model in Alaska and is hoping to spread it to at least six other states in 2024.
The ballot measure has drawn opposition from both Republicans and Democrats. Thursday’s debate, hosted by the University of Denver and Colorado Politics, featured two of Proposition 131’s most prominent right-wing opponents.