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<v Speaker 1>Nick Troyano with Unit America is going to be at

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<v Speaker 1>a debate tonight at DU I believe I looked earlier

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<v Speaker 1>and there was still some tickets left. Nick Troyano, who's

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<v Speaker 1>joining me now? But I've got information about it on

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<v Speaker 1>the blog today, Nick, can we do a rapid speed

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<v Speaker 1>round of question and answer about Prop one thirty one?

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<v Speaker 2>Happy to Mandy first of all, tell my listeners briefly

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<v Speaker 2>what it does.

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<v Speaker 3>This makes two changes to our elections that will give

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<v Speaker 3>voters a lot more choice and power in their elections.

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<v Speaker 3>The first is in the primary instead of you're an

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<v Speaker 3>independent choosing between a Democratic or Republican primary, and everybody

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<v Speaker 3>gets one ballot, and you can vote for the person,

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<v Speaker 3>not the party. You can vote for anyone of any

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<v Speaker 3>party for any office. And then the second change is

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<v Speaker 3>that the top four finishers go to the general election,

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<v Speaker 3>where you have the option of ranking them, not just

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<v Speaker 3>choosing one. And this ensures that whoever wins does so

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<v Speaker 3>with majority support through an instant runoff process. The combination

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<v Speaker 3>of these reforms mean that no longer will just five

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<v Speaker 3>percent of the electorate to determine the outcome of most

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<v Speaker 3>races and low turnout primaries but our elections will be

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<v Speaker 3>decided in a November election when most voters cast their

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<v Speaker 3>ballots and will get leaders who actually represent a majority of.

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<v Speaker 1>Us because we have districts in Colorado, both Democrat and Republican,

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<v Speaker 1>that are considered so called safe districts, so they are

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<v Speaker 1>essentially decided in the primary.

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<v Speaker 2>Correct. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>The sad reality is I can go through the list

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<v Speaker 3>of all of our legislative seats and with one hundred

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<v Speaker 3>percent accuracy for eighty percent of them, tell you who

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<v Speaker 3>will win today, a week more than a week out

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<v Speaker 3>from when any votes will be tallied. That's because most

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<v Speaker 3>of these legislative seats are locked for one party or another,

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<v Speaker 3>and the low turnout primary determines the outcomes back in June.

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<v Speaker 1>So in this system, if you did not want to

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<v Speaker 1>rank your camp, say you've got candidate ABC and D.

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<v Speaker 1>A is your candidate BC and D or communist? You

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to vote for those people. If you don't

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<v Speaker 1>vote for two, three, and four, what happens to your ballot?

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<v Speaker 2>Does it still get counted?

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<v Speaker 3>Your ballot absolutely gets counted. And in this scenario that

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<v Speaker 3>none of the four candidates get an outright majority of support,

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<v Speaker 3>it's the candidate with the least amount of votes that

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<v Speaker 3>get eliminated, and then you look to that candidate's second choice,

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<v Speaker 3>their supporters second choice vote, and redistribute an until someone

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<v Speaker 3>emerges with a majority. So it's to your advantage to

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<v Speaker 3>rank more because if it goes into this runoff period

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<v Speaker 3>of time, your vote will still be in the running,

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<v Speaker 3>but you don't have to.

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<v Speaker 1>So one of the things that I get asked about

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<v Speaker 1>a lot, and I'm just going to read this text

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<v Speaker 1>message that I just got because this really encapsulates it

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<v Speaker 1>personally perfectly.

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<v Speaker 2>One moment.

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<v Speaker 1>Please, Mandy, if one thirty one passes, Colorado will be

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<v Speaker 1>one party rule within five years, how do you respond

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<v Speaker 1>to that?

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<v Speaker 3>It's actually the opposite. This is going to create more

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<v Speaker 3>healthy competition between both political parties and may even level

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<v Speaker 3>the playing field for candidates to compete from outside the

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<v Speaker 3>two major political parties. And that's because we have something

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<v Speaker 3>called the spoiler effect in our current system, where those

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<v Speaker 3>who want to vote for an independent or a third

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<v Speaker 3>party candidate fear that if they do, they'll take away

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<v Speaker 3>a vote from their second preferred candidate and wind up

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<v Speaker 3>helping to elect their least preferred Under this system, you

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<v Speaker 3>actually get to vote your values and your views and

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<v Speaker 3>express a fuller preference of your vote.

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<v Speaker 1>That seems to be the biggest concern is that people

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<v Speaker 1>say in Denver, they always use Denver as an example.

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<v Speaker 1>In Denver, a Republican will never be on the ballot,

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<v Speaker 1>to which I respond, is there a chance of Republicans

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<v Speaker 1>going to get elected in Denver?

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<v Speaker 2>Right now? So let's be real.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I'm not trying to be flippant, but is

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<v Speaker 1>there no, there isn't what I see happening here is this?

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<v Speaker 1>If it works, Nick, and God, I want this to work, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>because I've really toss this around in my brain, trying

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<v Speaker 1>to look at all the potential outcomes, all the potential positives,

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<v Speaker 1>all the potential negatives. I believe that if candidates get it,

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<v Speaker 1>and if candidates campaign in the right way, meaning they

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<v Speaker 1>try to cast a broad net right, they try to

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<v Speaker 1>campaign to everyone, this could fundamentally change the way elections

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<v Speaker 1>are in this country. Is that the only reason? Look,

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<v Speaker 1>why did you guys launch this in the first place?

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<v Speaker 1>What are the underlying motives here?

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<v Speaker 3>One motive is to give voters a ballot that truly matters.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, I've looked at my ballot today, I got

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<v Speaker 3>in the mail. I live in Denver. Most of these races,

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<v Speaker 3>virtually all of them have already been decided in the

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<v Speaker 3>Democratic primary. So this reform is really about making sure

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<v Speaker 3>that when you vote in November, you have more choices

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<v Speaker 3>on your ballot, and your ballot actually matters. The second

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<v Speaker 3>reason why we're proposing this reform is because it changes

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<v Speaker 3>the incentives of candidates and elected leaders, to your point,

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<v Speaker 3>to incentivize them to reach out to a roder coalition

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<v Speaker 3>of voters to get elected, so that when they're in office,

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<v Speaker 3>they're actually trying to represent a true majority of us,

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<v Speaker 3>not just pandered to the five percent of the base

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<v Speaker 3>of their party that they need to stay in the

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<v Speaker 3>good graces with to stay in office. So it's good

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<v Speaker 3>for voters and it's good for governance. And that's why

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<v Speaker 3>we think this is a pro democracy, nonpartisan reform. You

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<v Speaker 3>can tell a lot by an idea, a boy who

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<v Speaker 3>opposes it, and both major parties oppose it, Ndor Bennett

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<v Speaker 3>Lauren Bobert. What do they have in common? Not much.

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<v Speaker 3>They want to protect their own power. This is a

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<v Speaker 3>pro voter, pro people reform.

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<v Speaker 1>Why shouldn't the two parties continue to decide how we

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<v Speaker 1>do our primaries.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, we have to disentangle the role that parties play

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<v Speaker 3>from the role that our elections should play. Right now,

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<v Speaker 3>to use a sort of sports analogy, we have two

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<v Speaker 3>teams that are also deciding the rules of the league

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<v Speaker 3>and are trying to be the umpires and enforcing those rules.

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<v Speaker 3>We have to separate this out so that the parties

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<v Speaker 3>are participating in our democracy, but they don't control our

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<v Speaker 3>our elections. Our elections belong to voters, and under this system,

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<v Speaker 3>a government run, taxpayer funded process, this will give voters

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<v Speaker 3>a lot more choice and power in their elections. Parties,

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<v Speaker 3>by the way, can still continue their core function. They

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<v Speaker 3>can recruit, support and endorse candidates as they do today.

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<v Speaker 1>The last question I have, and then we'll talk about

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<v Speaker 1>tonight's event real quick, how could rank choice voting be

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<v Speaker 1>manipulated by someone? And this is a common theory that

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<v Speaker 1>I hear from listeners that they're worried somebody is going

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<v Speaker 1>to run as a conservative and then take away a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of votes from an actual conservative. How do you

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<v Speaker 1>see or how could this be manipulated? Have you guys

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<v Speaker 1>thought about any of that?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, there's no perfect system, but ranked choice voting in

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<v Speaker 3>general elections will reduce a lot of the gamesmanship that

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<v Speaker 3>we see today. Republicans sometimes run and support Green Party candidates,

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<v Speaker 3>and Democrats do the same with libertarians to peel off

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<v Speaker 3>some votes and manage themselves in the general election. That

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<v Speaker 3>won't be possible or much less likely under this current system,

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<v Speaker 3>because voters can still rank a second preference. Likewise, there's

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<v Speaker 3>been plenty of stories about how Democrats have spent millions

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<v Speaker 3>of dollars within Republican primaries to support the most extreme

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<v Speaker 3>Republican to advantage themselves in general elections. That too, is

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<v Speaker 3>greatly mitigated under this new system because four candidates will

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<v Speaker 3>get to the general election. So, again, no perfect system,

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<v Speaker 3>but this proposal actually reduces a lot of the gamesmanship

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<v Speaker 3>that we see today.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, Nick.

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<v Speaker 1>Freyano with United America on the show. Right now, I lied,

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<v Speaker 1>I have one work because this text just came in.

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<v Speaker 1>Another common thing not true. Once your candidate is eliminated,

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<v Speaker 1>if you haven't ranked either candidates on your ballot, your

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<v Speaker 1>ballot is exhausted and your vote is not counted towards

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<v Speaker 1>the final vote tabulation?

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<v Speaker 2>Is that accurate?

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<v Speaker 3>That is and That's what I did say earlier, which

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<v Speaker 3>is why I think we encourage people to fill out

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<v Speaker 3>their full ballot. But you have to compare it again

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<v Speaker 3>to the current system. If you vote for saying independent

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<v Speaker 3>our third party candidate, you don't have the ability to

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<v Speaker 3>put a second choice if that candidate doesn't win and

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<v Speaker 3>your current vote is exhausted. So relative to the current system,

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<v Speaker 3>this allows people to have a much fuller and much

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<v Speaker 3>more powerful say and who represents them.

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<v Speaker 2>Let me make sure that I am clear on this.

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<v Speaker 1>So your first initial vote doesn't count towards the tabulation

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't rank the other candidates.

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<v Speaker 3>No, No, your first choice absolutely does.

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<v Speaker 1>So your vote count, you just don't. You don't weigh

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<v Speaker 1>in on anything else. If you choose not to correct.

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<v Speaker 3>If that race goes to a runoff, and if you

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<v Speaker 3>choose not to rank any of the candidates that are

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<v Speaker 3>in that runoff, then of course your other preferences don't count.

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<v Speaker 3>It's almost like you're voting here in Denver and the

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<v Speaker 3>mayor's race, and the race goes to a runoff. If

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<v Speaker 3>you don't show up the second time, your vote doesn't count.

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<v Speaker 3>So we would encourage you to do that under this system.

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<v Speaker 3>The only difference is instead of asking you to come

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<v Speaker 3>back to the polls again, we allow you to to

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<v Speaker 3>rank your backup preferences at that time.

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<v Speaker 1>Nick Treyona is my guest. Nick, we're almost out a time.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about what's happening tonight at you.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so we're squaring off against some opponents of Prop.

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<v Speaker 3>Thirty one. We're looking forward to a good conversation and

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<v Speaker 3>debate about this topic. And I think the biggest difference

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<v Speaker 3>between proponents and opponents of the system is how much

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<v Speaker 3>we trust voters. Do we trust them with more power

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<v Speaker 3>in our system? Do we trust them that they are

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<v Speaker 3>capable of ranking candidates one, two, three on their ballot?

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<v Speaker 3>Proponents say yes, and that this is going to be

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<v Speaker 3>good for voters and good for the state of Colorado. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>Nick TREONO, I appreciate what you guys are doing. I

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<v Speaker 1>am a solid yes on Prop one thirty one, and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm trying to encourage others to do the same. What

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<v Speaker 1>we've got now For the person who said we'll have

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<v Speaker 1>one party rule in five years, yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Look around. That's what we have now in Colorado.

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<v Speaker 1>And the incompetence of the Republican Party is not going

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<v Speaker 1>to change that anytime soon.

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<v Speaker 2>Nick, I hope the debate goes well tonight.

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<v Speaker 1>And hopefully we'll talk after this passes about what it's

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<v Speaker 1>look like. Since the Democratic and Republican legislature decided to

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<v Speaker 1>ban this before the voters even had a chance to

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<v Speaker 1>vote on it, we'll talk about that later.

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<v Speaker 3>Thanks, Mandy.

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<v Speaker 2>That's Nick Torewna with Unite America.