The Secretary of State announced Tuesday that the Colorado Forward Party has attained enough registered voters to be recognized as a minor political party in the state.

In a statement announcing the designation, the Forward Party said the “vital milestone” caps a year-long effort by a team of volunteers.

The minor party status allows the Forward Party to provide ballot access and other support to candidates aligned with its values.

“Over 17,000 Coloradans petitioned for us to be a new political party because they know common-sense majority in this state and country are feeling abandoned by the two legacy parties who increasingly cater to their extremes,” said Rich Herrmann, chairman of the Colorado Forward’s executive committee.

Hermann highlighted that more than 47% of Colorado’s registered are unaffiliated.

“Colorado Forward Party is creating a new home for these voters who are tired of partisan leaders more interested in winning political points than serving their constituents,” he said.

Colorado is the latest state to recognize the Forward Party. The minor party is also operating in more than 30 states, according to the website.

In Colorado, a minor political party is any political party other than a major political party. To obtain minor political party status, a party must satisfy the conditions set forth in Article 4, Title 1, of the Colorado Revised Statutes.

A minor political party maintains its status if:

• At least 1 of the minor political party’s candidates for statewide office has received at least 1% of the total votes cast in any statewide office in either of the last two general elections; or

• 1,000 or more registered electors are affiliated with the minor political party before July 1 in either of the last two general elections for which the minor political party seeks to nominate candidates.

The other minor parties in Colorado are the American Constitution Party, the Approval Voting Party, the Colorado Center Party, the Green Party of Colorado, the Libertarian Party of Colorado, the No Labels Colorado Party, and the Unity Party of Colorado.

A full listing of political parties in Colorado is available in the political party directory. To learn more, visit the Secretary of State’s minor parties and qualified political organizations page.