Political parties are private organizations, membership of which is extremely easy to obtain (via voter registration).
In the 2020 US Supreme Court case California Democratic Party et al. v. Jones, an open primary (one in which non-party members participate) was held to violate the free association rights of party members.
Colorado law requires open primaries unless a party overcomes a virtually impossible hurdle to “opt out” of another method of selecting candidates. Colorado’s law is unconstitutional.
Unaffiliated voters have no constitutional right to participate in a political party’s primary. Unaffiliated voters are free to support unaffiliated candidates and try to get them on the general election ballot. This is constitutional and allowed by Colorado law.
Maurice Emmer
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Aspen
