Colorado GOP asks judge for emergency order blocking unaffiliated voters from casting ballots in the party 2026 primaries

The Colorado GOP on Monday asked a federal judge to block unaffiliated voters from participating in the party’s primaries this year, a request that threatens to upend the June 30 election with ballots weeks away from starting to be mailed out. The request piggybacks off a ruling late last month from U.S. Brimmer, who found that a requirement in Colorado law that 75% of the party’s central committee must support opting out of the primaries before it can happen “constitutes a severe burden on the major parties’ right to association and is therefore unconstitutional.” Randy Corporon and Alexander Haberbush, two lawyers for the Colorado GOP, wrote that since the party’s opt-out vote had to happen by Oct. 1, 2025, and Brimmer’s ruling wasn’t issued until March 31, unaffiliated voters should be blocked from participating in the Republican primaries “to prevent irreparable constitutional injury.” County clerks must send ballots for the June 30 primary to military and overseas voters by May 16, the same day elections officials are required to provide a ballot to any voter who requests one