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Ballot access requirements for political parties in Colorado
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Note: This article is not intended to serve as a guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.
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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.
To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Colorado, click here.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
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][2]
- The group must file a proof of organization form with the Colorado Secretary of State. This form must include the organization's bylaws and leadership.
- The group must meet as an organization at least once per year. At meetings during odd-numbered years, the group must elect leadership. At meetings during even-numbered years, the group must select candidates who will attempt to petition for ballot access.
- 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.[2]
Minor parties
There are three methods for qualifying as a minor party:[1][3][4]
- A QPO can qualify as a minor party if any of its candidates for statewide office received at least 5% of the total votes for that office in either of the two preceding general elections.
- A QPO can qualify as a minor party if at least 1,000 registered voters designate affiliation with it by July 1 of the election year.
- A group may petition to become a minor party. The petition must contain signatures of at least 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.[5]
A minor party maintains its status as long as one of its candidates for statewide office received at least 1% of the total votes cast in either of the last two general elections or if 1,000 or more registered voters are affiliated with the minor party by July 1 before either of the last two general elections.[3]
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.[1][6]
Major parties
In Colorado, a major political party is any party that at the last gubernatorial election was represented by a candidate who received at least 10% of the votes cast for the office of governor.[7][8]
Political parties
As of May 2024, Colorado officially recognized ten political parties. [9]
| 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 | Party 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 | |
| Colorado Forward Party | Link | Party platform |
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.[10]
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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
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Colorado Secretary of State, "Minor Parties and Qualified Political Organizations FAQs," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "Rule 3. Rules Concerning Qualified Political Organizations," September 9, 2024 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "corule3" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 LexisNexis, "C.R.S. 1-4-1303," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "C.R.S. 1-4-1302," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "C.R.S. 1-4-1301," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "C.R.S. 1-4-1304," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Major Political Parties FAQs," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ LexisNexis, "C.R.S. 1-1-104," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Political Party Directory," accessed May 20, 2024
- ↑ News Release Colorado Secretary of State, "No Labels Party Now a Minor Party in Colorado," accessed March 14, 2023
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