Ballot access requirements for political parties in Colorado

Ballot access for major and minor party candidates
Ballot access for presidential candidates
List of political parties in the United States
Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions
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Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS

As of September 2023, Colorado officially recognized nine political parties: the American Constitution, Approval Voting, Colorado Center, Democratic, Green, Libertarian, No Labels, Republican, and Unity parties.

In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. Colorado allows candidates to use political party designations.

To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Colorado, see this article.

See state election laws

Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

Seal of Colorado

See statutes: Title 1, Article 4 of the Colorado Revised Statutes

There are three types of political entities in Colorado: qualified political organizations (QPOs), minor parties, and major parties. The qualification processes for each of these political entities are outlined below.

Qualified political organization (QPOs)

To become a recognized QPO, a group must meet the following requirements:

1. The group must file a proof of organization form with the Colorado Secretary of State. This form must include the organization's bylaws.
2. The group must meet as an organization at least once per year. At meetings during odd-numbered years, the group must elect leaders. At meetings during even-numbered years, the group must select candidates who will attempt to petition for ballot access.
3. The group must certify at least one candidate for the general election ballot every two years. QPO candidates must petition for ballot placement.

Once a QPO has filed a proof of organization form, met as an organization, and certified a candidate for the general election ballot, the QPO will be considered qualified. At this point, registered voters are permitted to register affiliation with the QPO. If any of the above requirements is not met, the QPO's recognized status will be revoked.

The process of establishing a QPO is considered a stepping stone to qualifying as a minor party.

Minor parties

There are three methods for qualifying as a minor party:

1. A QPO may qualify as a minor party if any of its candidates for statewide office received at least 5 percent of the total votes cast for that office in either of the last two elections.
2. A QPO may also qualify as a minor party if 1,000 or more registered voters designate affiliation with it by July 1 of the election year.
3. A group may petition to become a minor party. The petition must contain signatures from 10,000 registered Colorado voters and must be submitted to the secretary of state by the second Friday of January in the year of the election.

The group must file a set of bylaws or a party constitution with the secretary of state. The group must file any amendments to the party bylaws or constitution no later than 15 days after adopting them.

The name of the minor party may not contain more than three words in addition to the word "party." The name must also not use, in whole or in part, the name of any existing political party.

A minor party can maintain its status if one of its candidates for statewide office received at least 5 percent of the total votes cast in either of the last two elections or if 1,000 or more registered voters have affiliated with the minor party prior to July 1 before either of the last two elections.

A qualified minor party may nominate candidates for the general election just as a major party does. Minor parties are also permitted to nominate candidates by petition or by assembly.

Major parties

To be considered a major party, a QPO or minor party candidate must receive at least 10 percent of the total votes cast in a gubernatorial election.

Major parties must hold primary elections to elect general election candidates.

Political parties

See also: List of political parties in the United States

As of September 2023, Colorado officially recognized nine political parties.

Party	Website link	By-laws/platform link
American Constitution Party of Colorado	Link
Approval Voting Party of Colorado	Link	Party platform
Colorado Center Party	Link	platform
Democratic Party of Colorado	Link	Party platform
Green Party of Colorado	Link	Party platform
Libertarian Party of Colorado	Link	Party platform
No Labels	Link	Party platform
Republican Party of Colorado	Link	Party platform
Unity Party of Colorado	Link	Party constitution

Historical events

2023

January 25, 2023 , Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) announced that the No Labels party had submitted the signatures required for ballot qualification.

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See also

• Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Colorado
• Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Colorado
• List of political parties in the United States
• Democratic Party of Colorado
• Republican Party of Colorado

External links

• Colorado Democratic Party
• Colorado Republican Party