The most recent voter registration numbers as of July show a one-month decline of 39,375 voters from June. These lower numbers may be a result of purging registrations and/or disgusted citizens. Regardless, new registrations did not exceed lost voters.

Here’s a fact that can spin your eyeballs: voter registrations between June and July of individuals 18-to-34 dropped by 24,196 citizens. Here’s an even bigger eye spin: in July Democrats represent 24% of active voters 18-to-34, Republicans represent 14.5%, and Unaffiliateds (UAF) comprise 64%.

Compare the 18-to-34 cohort to 55-to-74 cohort in July. Of the latter, 28.5% are Democrats, 31.6% are Republicans and 40% are UAFs. The trend is fast-moving toward UAFs as the largest majority by far, with Democrats in a distant second and Republicans bringing up a dismal third. 

Of the two cohorts, the 55-to-74 group lost 6,574 voters compared to the younger crew’s 24,196. Young voters make up 1,076,941 of total active registrations. Older voters comprise 1,085,472. That’s pretty close in numbers but very different in registration losses, probably because young people move around more. But the inevitable trend is older voters will die off replaced by the emerging majority of UAFs.

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The point of reviewing these numbers is to see into the future. As today’s 55-to-74 year old voters, more conservative and party-oriented than today’s young voters, leave the scene, and the large majority of UAF voters expand across age groups, how will our democracy function?

That question is partly addressed by Initiative 310 on ranked-choice voting. In a nutshell, the ranked-choice voting initiative addresses primaries and general elections for federal, statewide and General Assembly offices, also known as “covered offices.” The initiative does not change how other offices such as county commissioners, school boards, etc., are elected.

A principal feature of ranked-choice voting is anyone can become a primary-election candidate without going through a caucus or a party nomination process. UAF candidates can enter by signature gathering in the same manner as a Democrat- or Republican-affiliated candidate. Individuals who are registered as UAF can vote for any candidate without regard to party affiliation. Their primary ballot will list all candidates for an office.

Once the primary is completed, a maximum of four top candidate vote-getters will appear on the general election ballot. Citizens will rank these candidates from 1 (most preferred) to 4 (least preferred) if no candidate receives a majority primary vote. If there is no majority winner, then a countdown occurs with the votes of the last-placed candidate distributed most-preferred to least, to the remaining candidates. If that count doesn’t produce a majority winner, the process is repeated until a candidate receives a majority of votes.

In Alaska, ranked-choice voting produced a conservative Republican governor, a moderate Democratic Congresswoman, and a moderate Republican senator. In this instance, the result leaned toward political moderation.

In the Virginia Republican primary, the ranked-choice result of roughly 30,000 voters in a hybrid primary election produced a win for Glenn Youngkin, the “moderate” Republican candidate over more conservative contenders. Ranked-choice gave Youngkin the shot to defeat Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the general election. In this case, the ranked-choice advantage went to Republicans.

In single-party districts, ranked-choice can enable voters to choose between a “moderate” and “less moderate” person within the same party. If four candidates are on the general election ballot in a single-party district, ranked voting will give voters the most choice as to how moderate to progressive or moderate to conservative the winner will be. Minority Republican voters can influence the outcome of a Democratically controlled seat by putting the more moderate Democrat as their leading choice in the second spot. Democrats can play that hand to select the most moderate Republican.

Civility may reassert its value. Candidates of the same party in primaries may be less likely to diss their same-party opponents if they must also try to come in second or third place among voters. Unaffiliated candidates may slip to the top if party candidates split their votes.

Initiative 310 will not cure all that ails our political system, for sure. Money will continue to slosh around, affecting how voters experience candidates. But ranked-choice voting may force the parties to become more inclusive and act with more consideration toward voters’ yearning for policy arguments rather than personal attacks.

Alaska will vote this year on an initiative to withdraw ranked-choice voting as its methodology. The outcome of that election may tell us whether ranked-choice will be well-received or a non-starter for Colorado.

Paula Noonan owns Colorado Capitol Watch, the state’s premier legislature tracking platform.